OIA file #F8-782B [UNSOLVED]
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OIA file #F8-782B [UNSOLVED]
Herr Dernbach,
Attached to this email is a copy of the file the chief wants you to review. I don’t know why Bechler wants to dredge this file up after so many years as a cold case, but who am I to question? Swing by Elias’s desk if you have any questions about it, I heard a rumor that he was around during that time. See you after work
Your friend,
Joseph Ditter
The beginning of the report reads:
TOP SECRET - ONLY AVAILABLE ON SPECIAL REQUEST BY ORDER OF CHIEF LANGE 02/01/14
August 13th, 2014
Subject of report: Series of terror attacks by unknown state actors targetting a lone individual within the country.
Status: OPEN
Threat level: LOW
It is believed that the individual that this report will go into further detail on is not of Guthic origin. Individual is described as being a female, given age being 9, and is as of now, not in the country. Her current status is unknown, but she is believed to still be alive. Photograph can be found on page 11. Incident began on October 30th, 2013, when his majesty Jorge Brandt was out on a walk and came upon a gunman attempting to assassinate the individual. Gunman will hitherto be referred to as G1. G1 was chased off by members of the royal guard, after a brief shooting incident [see page 2]. Report will document the events in full, based on and including testimony from the people involved with the incident. Below is document one, testimony from HM Jorge Brandt, along with the handful of others involved in the original incident.
…
Jorge Brandt
Outside of Varbrook University’s School of International Studies
10/30/13
10:15pm
Jorge Brandt felt on top of the world, with the cool night air filling his nostrils, almost intoxicating him. After countless attempts at trying to get a night for himself, by himself, he finally got his wish. Tricking his family maid into thinking he had a fever had been difficult, perhaps even more so than slipping away from the royal guards assigned to him, but he had done it. He figured that he would go to some of the bars in the college section of town, and see if he couldn’t sneak his way into one of them. His father would be furious with him if he found out, which is why he would stop by the library first to grab some books. A foolproof plan, provided his father didn’t ask too many questions. It had all mostly gone to plan, until he got to the school of international studies. Apparently his ruse hadn’t fooled that old maid for very long, because there were police cars doing a round of the campus, and he had a sneaking suspicion they weren’t looking for rogue college students. His suspicion was confirmed when one of them made a sharp U-Turn to face him, and started driving quickly towards him.
That didn’t last long
He thought as he took off running down a side street. No matter, he had worked too hard sneaking out tonight, and he’d be damned if he didn’t at least get to experience some of the city for himself, even if it was at a running pace. He made several twists and turns to try and shake anyone who would follow, and after realizing he had no idea where he was, stopped to take a breather. Coming out from an alleyway, he found himself on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood. Hearing no sound of an approaching car, he triumphantly walked out onto the sidewalk, and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the night. The moon was full, if not partially obscured by clouds, and there was a cool breeze that ruffled Jorge’s light brown hair. The serenity of the night was shattered when he heard the scream of a girl, and some trash cans on the other side of the block fell over. He began to run over to the sound, when he saw the girl come sprinting down the block, with a giant man dressed in all black following her. His mind raced, as he tried desperately to come up with a plan that didn’t involve fist fighting a man clearly twice his size. He didn’t have long to think, as a trio of gunshot caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
The girl stumbled for two steps before falling on her face, unmoving. She was maybe 30ft from Jorge, but the man cloaked in black was much quicker, and was soon on top of her. Very deliberately, he aimed his pistol, now gleaming in the moonlight, over her unmoving form. Holding it to her head, he also produced a cigarette from his pocket, and took the time to light it. Before he finished the job, he looked up, and cocked his head, seemingly noticing Jorge for the first time. He took a long drag from the cigarette, and placed a foot on the girl’s form, as if to prevent the unmoving body from fleeing. In what seemed like slow motion he raised his gun on Jorge. Before he could fire, two unmarked cars came screeching to a halt behind him, and four men of the royal guards jumped out with guns drawn. Not wanting to stick around in the line of fire, Jorge leaped back towards the alley before the shooting started. He managed to sneak a glimpse at the figure, who had now wheeled around to face the new threat. What he saw stunned him, it almost looked as though the figure was blinking in and out of reality. He took three shots at the royal guards, before flickering out of existence when they returned fire. A torrent of gunfire from the guards ripped down the street, yet the man in black did not reappear. Jorge’s ears rang from the gunfire, and he could barely hear the guards calling his name.
“Young Master! Young Master, are you ok!”
One shouted as he ran over to him. Shouting from his semi hidden position behind some garbage cans he responded
“I’m fine! Did you get him?”
He hated how much like a child that made him sound. His face would burn from embarrassment, if he wasn’t already hyperventilating from the adrenaline rush. Rapidly more of the royal guard and local police vehicles showed up. The royal guardsmen already on scene began to shout to each other
“You see where he went?”
“No, fucker up and disappeared!”
“Is the site secure?”
“Yeah we got both ends blocked off, officers patrolling the adjacent neighborhood”
Jorge wasn’t listening to them, he had found a small bit of courage, and rushed over to the side of the unconscious girl. There was already a pool of blood beginning to eek out from under her. Panicking, and realizing he knew nothing about medicine, he attempted to see if she was even still alive
“Hey. Are you still with us? Come on, come on, say something.”
He got the faintest of a whimper escaped from the girl, signaling she was still alive. Giving one nervous laugh, Jorge looked frantically to the guards now forming a protective ring around him.
“She's alive! We gotta help her.”
He pleaded.
One of them signed, and replied coolly
“Our main job right now is to get you back home young master. The girl will be safe in the hands of local police. You need to come with us, lest that shooter come back.”
His head swam, it had been beaten into his head by tutors to be virtuous since a young age. Always to do right by the kingdom, and those under him. Now he was being told to abandon someone who would surely die without his help. No, he couldn’t allow that. His voice cracking from adrenaline, he yelled back
“No! We don’t have time to wait for an ambulance to get here. We need to get her to Wolf Memorial hospital, it's the closest, and I can get her in.”
Trying to pull him away from the girl, the guard responds
“Young Master, it's noble of you to want to protect the subjects of the kingdom, but you have to leave. You're under a lot of stress right now, and you have witnessed things a boy your age should never see.”
Shoving the guard off, he goes to pick up the girl.
“I’m no child, I am Jorge Brandt, second in line to the throne, and of noble blood. You answer to me.”
He said as imposingly as he could.
Now with the fragile thing in his arms, he stared at her pale face for a moment before looking back at the guard.
“We are going to the hospital.”
He said finally. Seeing no point in further arguing, the guard relented. Quickly he was escorted to the awaiting unmarked car, and the unconscious girl was taken, very reluctantly, from him. He noticed that the girl's eyes were open, and locked on him as she was passed off, but they rapidly shut. They sped out of the now very much noisy neighborhood to King H. Wolf Memorial hospital, a small place where Galavaria’s VIPs are sent to be looked over. On the ride over one of the guards got a better look at the girl's face, and realized she was clearly not Galavarian. This combined with the disappearing man would cause the royal guards to offload investigation of the incident not to local police, but to the intelligence services.
They came to a screeching halt at the front entrance, with Jorge practically kicking the front door open.
“I need a doctor! Now!”
Quickly the hospital staff rushed to him, to ensure he was ok. This was aided by the fact that his coat was now stained with blood, but they didn’t need to know it wasn’t his own. He needed them to start up medical procedures so they would be forced to render aid to the mystery girl. Close behind him followed his guards with the unconscious girl. With little choice other than to render aid, the medical staff quickly whisked the child away, no doubt to surgery. Satisfied that he had done a good deed, he walked over to a bench in the waiting room, and sleep rapidly took him. While he was sleeping, his fathers personal guards came to retrieve him. Jorge woke up on the morning of the 31st in his room. He attempted to go visit the hospital, to check on the girl, but was intercepted by his father, who was more then displeased with him. Some say the ass chewing delivered that day could be heard five blocks down from the castle.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the staff worked day and night for two days straight to keep the poor girl alive. In the end, their efforts were a success, and after swimming in and out of consciousness for two days, on the second night of her stay at the hospital she woke up.
Simultaneous to these events, memos to the Office of Internal Affairs, and Foreign Relations Group were put out to keep the intelligence services on the lookout for a disappearing man. Little did they know at the time, it would spark one of the most dangerous manhunts in Galavaria since the Badfields conflict.
Attached to this email is a copy of the file the chief wants you to review. I don’t know why Bechler wants to dredge this file up after so many years as a cold case, but who am I to question? Swing by Elias’s desk if you have any questions about it, I heard a rumor that he was around during that time. See you after work
Your friend,
Joseph Ditter
The beginning of the report reads:
TOP SECRET - ONLY AVAILABLE ON SPECIAL REQUEST BY ORDER OF CHIEF LANGE 02/01/14
August 13th, 2014
Subject of report: Series of terror attacks by unknown state actors targetting a lone individual within the country.
Status: OPEN
Threat level: LOW
It is believed that the individual that this report will go into further detail on is not of Guthic origin. Individual is described as being a female, given age being 9, and is as of now, not in the country. Her current status is unknown, but she is believed to still be alive. Photograph can be found on page 11. Incident began on October 30th, 2013, when his majesty Jorge Brandt was out on a walk and came upon a gunman attempting to assassinate the individual. Gunman will hitherto be referred to as G1. G1 was chased off by members of the royal guard, after a brief shooting incident [see page 2]. Report will document the events in full, based on and including testimony from the people involved with the incident. Below is document one, testimony from HM Jorge Brandt, along with the handful of others involved in the original incident.
…
Jorge Brandt
Outside of Varbrook University’s School of International Studies
10/30/13
10:15pm
Jorge Brandt felt on top of the world, with the cool night air filling his nostrils, almost intoxicating him. After countless attempts at trying to get a night for himself, by himself, he finally got his wish. Tricking his family maid into thinking he had a fever had been difficult, perhaps even more so than slipping away from the royal guards assigned to him, but he had done it. He figured that he would go to some of the bars in the college section of town, and see if he couldn’t sneak his way into one of them. His father would be furious with him if he found out, which is why he would stop by the library first to grab some books. A foolproof plan, provided his father didn’t ask too many questions. It had all mostly gone to plan, until he got to the school of international studies. Apparently his ruse hadn’t fooled that old maid for very long, because there were police cars doing a round of the campus, and he had a sneaking suspicion they weren’t looking for rogue college students. His suspicion was confirmed when one of them made a sharp U-Turn to face him, and started driving quickly towards him.
That didn’t last long
He thought as he took off running down a side street. No matter, he had worked too hard sneaking out tonight, and he’d be damned if he didn’t at least get to experience some of the city for himself, even if it was at a running pace. He made several twists and turns to try and shake anyone who would follow, and after realizing he had no idea where he was, stopped to take a breather. Coming out from an alleyway, he found himself on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood. Hearing no sound of an approaching car, he triumphantly walked out onto the sidewalk, and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the night. The moon was full, if not partially obscured by clouds, and there was a cool breeze that ruffled Jorge’s light brown hair. The serenity of the night was shattered when he heard the scream of a girl, and some trash cans on the other side of the block fell over. He began to run over to the sound, when he saw the girl come sprinting down the block, with a giant man dressed in all black following her. His mind raced, as he tried desperately to come up with a plan that didn’t involve fist fighting a man clearly twice his size. He didn’t have long to think, as a trio of gunshot caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
The girl stumbled for two steps before falling on her face, unmoving. She was maybe 30ft from Jorge, but the man cloaked in black was much quicker, and was soon on top of her. Very deliberately, he aimed his pistol, now gleaming in the moonlight, over her unmoving form. Holding it to her head, he also produced a cigarette from his pocket, and took the time to light it. Before he finished the job, he looked up, and cocked his head, seemingly noticing Jorge for the first time. He took a long drag from the cigarette, and placed a foot on the girl’s form, as if to prevent the unmoving body from fleeing. In what seemed like slow motion he raised his gun on Jorge. Before he could fire, two unmarked cars came screeching to a halt behind him, and four men of the royal guards jumped out with guns drawn. Not wanting to stick around in the line of fire, Jorge leaped back towards the alley before the shooting started. He managed to sneak a glimpse at the figure, who had now wheeled around to face the new threat. What he saw stunned him, it almost looked as though the figure was blinking in and out of reality. He took three shots at the royal guards, before flickering out of existence when they returned fire. A torrent of gunfire from the guards ripped down the street, yet the man in black did not reappear. Jorge’s ears rang from the gunfire, and he could barely hear the guards calling his name.
“Young Master! Young Master, are you ok!”
One shouted as he ran over to him. Shouting from his semi hidden position behind some garbage cans he responded
“I’m fine! Did you get him?”
He hated how much like a child that made him sound. His face would burn from embarrassment, if he wasn’t already hyperventilating from the adrenaline rush. Rapidly more of the royal guard and local police vehicles showed up. The royal guardsmen already on scene began to shout to each other
“You see where he went?”
“No, fucker up and disappeared!”
“Is the site secure?”
“Yeah we got both ends blocked off, officers patrolling the adjacent neighborhood”
Jorge wasn’t listening to them, he had found a small bit of courage, and rushed over to the side of the unconscious girl. There was already a pool of blood beginning to eek out from under her. Panicking, and realizing he knew nothing about medicine, he attempted to see if she was even still alive
“Hey. Are you still with us? Come on, come on, say something.”
He got the faintest of a whimper escaped from the girl, signaling she was still alive. Giving one nervous laugh, Jorge looked frantically to the guards now forming a protective ring around him.
“She's alive! We gotta help her.”
He pleaded.
One of them signed, and replied coolly
“Our main job right now is to get you back home young master. The girl will be safe in the hands of local police. You need to come with us, lest that shooter come back.”
His head swam, it had been beaten into his head by tutors to be virtuous since a young age. Always to do right by the kingdom, and those under him. Now he was being told to abandon someone who would surely die without his help. No, he couldn’t allow that. His voice cracking from adrenaline, he yelled back
“No! We don’t have time to wait for an ambulance to get here. We need to get her to Wolf Memorial hospital, it's the closest, and I can get her in.”
Trying to pull him away from the girl, the guard responds
“Young Master, it's noble of you to want to protect the subjects of the kingdom, but you have to leave. You're under a lot of stress right now, and you have witnessed things a boy your age should never see.”
Shoving the guard off, he goes to pick up the girl.
“I’m no child, I am Jorge Brandt, second in line to the throne, and of noble blood. You answer to me.”
He said as imposingly as he could.
Now with the fragile thing in his arms, he stared at her pale face for a moment before looking back at the guard.
“We are going to the hospital.”
He said finally. Seeing no point in further arguing, the guard relented. Quickly he was escorted to the awaiting unmarked car, and the unconscious girl was taken, very reluctantly, from him. He noticed that the girl's eyes were open, and locked on him as she was passed off, but they rapidly shut. They sped out of the now very much noisy neighborhood to King H. Wolf Memorial hospital, a small place where Galavaria’s VIPs are sent to be looked over. On the ride over one of the guards got a better look at the girl's face, and realized she was clearly not Galavarian. This combined with the disappearing man would cause the royal guards to offload investigation of the incident not to local police, but to the intelligence services.
They came to a screeching halt at the front entrance, with Jorge practically kicking the front door open.
“I need a doctor! Now!”
Quickly the hospital staff rushed to him, to ensure he was ok. This was aided by the fact that his coat was now stained with blood, but they didn’t need to know it wasn’t his own. He needed them to start up medical procedures so they would be forced to render aid to the mystery girl. Close behind him followed his guards with the unconscious girl. With little choice other than to render aid, the medical staff quickly whisked the child away, no doubt to surgery. Satisfied that he had done a good deed, he walked over to a bench in the waiting room, and sleep rapidly took him. While he was sleeping, his fathers personal guards came to retrieve him. Jorge woke up on the morning of the 31st in his room. He attempted to go visit the hospital, to check on the girl, but was intercepted by his father, who was more then displeased with him. Some say the ass chewing delivered that day could be heard five blocks down from the castle.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, the staff worked day and night for two days straight to keep the poor girl alive. In the end, their efforts were a success, and after swimming in and out of consciousness for two days, on the second night of her stay at the hospital she woke up.
Simultaneous to these events, memos to the Office of Internal Affairs, and Foreign Relations Group were put out to keep the intelligence services on the lookout for a disappearing man. Little did they know at the time, it would spark one of the most dangerous manhunts in Galavaria since the Badfields conflict.
Vault- Posts : 27
Join date : 2021-04-21
Re: OIA file #F8-782B [UNSOLVED]
The vitals monitor remained steady, having a ever constant beat that could have easily been confused for a mechanical hum. The girl began to stir in her hospital bed, just waking up from her macabre slumber. She heard shuffling nearby and a set of two separate feet, murmuring in a language that remained foreign to her. Immediately her heart began to race, as she realized she was in a place wholly unfamiliar to her recollection. With no patience or forward thinking she would attempt to slide herself out the stiff hospital bed, her bone and muscle in her body aching as her bruised and stitched body rubbed like hot paper against her skin. She groaned in pain before her naked feet landed on the freezing cold tiled flooring of the hospital, sending chills down her spine as her toes curled up, attempting to decrease the amount of cold surface she was subject too. With a weak but panicked pace she took her first step, nearly faltering completely as her own body faced the full pressure of her body.
Attached to her right arm she felt a small tug of pressure. After all she has endured she dared not look upon what it was or her surroundings in general, just hoping and praying to herself that she simply got snagged onto something. In this moment a cold breeze from the room’s air conditioning unit ravaged her weakened body. She attempted to hug onto herself for warmth, only pulling the unknown tension further near her. In this her breathing became audibly more panicked as she felt a sting of pain when her hands clasped onto one of her three wounds. She took her next step, collapsing completely onto her knees and further down, complexly face down, a loud thump coming from this incident shortly followed by the metal clang of a IV pole. Her eyes closed as she cringed in pain, a whimper soon following with pain crying then taking off the corner of the room that she took up, only growing louder and more pained as each second passed into each other into the next one.
The room was silent for a few more moments, before footsteps rushed to the door. The door was then thrown open by what one would assume to be the nurse assigned to her care. The nurse was on the older side with streaks of gray seeping into her auburn hair, which was tied into a tight bun. She gasped at the empty bed, and frantically scanned the room for the child, finally resting her eyes on her hiding place at the other side of the room. "Good heavens child what are you doing out of bed? You are in no fit state to be doing anything but resting." Taking a few steps toward her, she says "You must not have a clue what's happened. You've been through quite the ordeal dearie. Let me help you get back into bed." she bent down to get on her level. The girl barely raised her head sheepishly upon hearing the door being thrown open.
Upon seeing the nurse enter the room tears would overtake her even more so than before, although she attempts to hold in her pained crying as to try to make a alert to her current position, only the faint whisper coming from her as her head fell back to the tiled floor, exhaustion and weakness overtaking her as she felt her a heavy weight on her eyes, forcing them to close. Her body’s forced attempt to make her rest only was momentary as she heard the concerned comments from the nurse, forcing her eyes to once again open as she saw the nurse approach her. The girl’s eyes were filled with confusion and fear. It was clear she was paralyzed with fear as she shook and shivered uncontrollably as the nurse bent down to her own level. At this point, a comparatively younger man in a black suit appears in the doorway. His hair is a light brown, cut in a military style high and tight. Without giving the man much regard, the nurse said over her shoulder "Just because she's awake doesn't mean she's fit to see visitors. We will call you when she is ready for that." She became even more scared as the man in black entered. His imposing appearance made her bury her head head into her outstretched arms, her naked forearms putting a warmth in between her face and the cold flooring.
During the nurse’s and the G-Man’s short and brief conversation the girl dared not move, hoping that if she did not hear a sound besides her pained breathing then they would focus on each other and forget about her. The man simply responds coldly "Ma'am, I understand you have the authority here when it comes to a patient, but this is a matter of national security. We have to ask the young miss here a few questions." Standing up, the nurse huffs "Your right, the hospital staff does reserve the right to withhold patients, even from the likes of you. We are going to exercise that right. Go take it up with the director of the hospital if you have a problem with that, but if you wouldn't mind, I have work to do" The man gives no indication of mood, and responds fatly "I left my number at the front desk, I expect a call if anything develops. We need to speak to your patient as soon as possible" With that, he leaves. Turning back to the girl, the Nurse says "I'm sorry about that dearie, now come on, let's get you to bed" She then moves to pick her up.
The seconds in between the government agent leaving and the nurse’s silence made her briefly believe that the two had forgotten about her, in order to check the results she sheepishly raised her head, tears running down her eyes as she saw the nurse turn back to her and begin speaking. She did not respond verbally, instead frighteningly attempting to move herself back with her hands, her body shaking either out of the autumn night and or unfiltered fear, flinching as if expecting to have been hit as soon as the nurse touched her fragile frame. Her breathing became more panicked and more desperate as her eyes began to swell with even more tears, sniffling constantly interrupting her breathing as her messy brown hair draped past her neck on nearly all sides, creating a small veil of a dozen small strands in front of her face.
Noting the girl's hypersensitive state, she very carefully laid her down on the hospital bed, and laid a blanket out. The child would very visibly try to hold in even more tears as she was actually picked up by the nurse, expecting an outcome much akin to being tossed out of the nearby window into the grasp of death. Despite still being very frightened the girl was somewhat calmed by simply being placed on the bed, her confused eyes staring directly up at the nurse. Brushing the hair out of her face the nurse coo's "shhhh shh sh. It's alright, your safe now. No need to cry, young one." The Nurse decides to sit on the side of the bed, and lays a hand on the sobbing girl's head, and begins to caress it.
Once again she flinches in anticipation of a strike as the nurse’s hand gets close to her face to wipe away the hair from her face, not responding verbally to her, only pulling the blanket closer to cover the near entirety of her body. While she does this, she starts to review some of the documentation left behind from what can be assumed to be the surgery. She frowns when she notices the personal details section for the patient info was left completely blank. Her eyes fell from matching the nurse’s own as she began to review the patient information.
In this meantime her eyes would fall upon the tube attached to herself leading to a IV bag, this she seemed to become frightened by, clasping her untubed hand onto the tube connecting her to the bag. Looking away from the clipboard for a moment, she grabs a tissue from the night stand next to the bed, and dabbed some of the tears that had escaped onto the girl's cheeks away. "I promise you'll be as good as new in no time, I just need you to take some deep breaths and calm down for me, young one. Do you want something to eat? Or maybe a drink? I think some hot coco and maybe a cookie would do you wonders"
For once the nurse’s touch did not make the child flinch, as she seemed to be wholly enraptured by the tube. In this she seemed to have stopped crying, a skeptical look overtaking her eyes as she tilted her head ever so slightly to get a better look on it, despite this change in behavior she continued to snuggle through her now normalized breathing, seeing to have been soothed by the nurse’s kind tone and cadence at least in part. Her eyes narrowed on it as the nurse began to talk, seeming to not really process it the girl would suddenly begin to weakly tug at the tube connecting her to the bag, clearly either distressed by it or wanting it to be removed. After half a second her next tug on the tube became more forced as her legs subconsciously curled in further into the blanket for warmth.
Taking some solace that the child had at least calmed down some, the Nurse decided to try a different tactic to get some words out of her "Can you tell me your name sweetheart?" Seeing her tug at the IV, she cautioned "try not to fuss about with that, it's been keeping you healthy the last few days. I can remove it now that you're awake, but you'll have to promise me you'll eat something ok?" she said sweetly. Not waiting for an answer, she removes the IV. It hurts, but after a flurry of movements from the nurse she have a bandage over where the IV was. The child remained completely absent of word, not even seeming to register that the nurse had said anything. As the nurse did her work the girl would flinch as pain momentarily eclipsed her, once the bandaid was applied she put some pressure on the area with her free hand, her eyes fixating on it as she felt her pulse and heartbeat "Now, what do you say to that hot coco?"
After a couple seconds she seemed to recognize that the nurse was indeed speaking, looking up at her with thankfulness that soon turned to complete and utter confusion, her head tilting as she watched the nurse’s mouth move, yet she did not respond. All she did was subconsciously rub her arm where the tube was once inserted, the brown color of the bandaid contrasting greatly with her extremely pale skin. She seemed to almost mouth something for half a second before giving up, just continuing to look up at the kind stranger. Realizing that the girl may not be able to speak, the Nurse got up, and left the room in a hurry.
The girl seemed to panic when the nurse stood up and walked up in a hurry. After half a minute into the nurse being gone the girl would begin to tear up, not sure why the kind woman has left her. As a way to seek comfort she grabbed the pillow that rested against the frame of the hospital bed and folded it in half like a taco, holding it in between her arms as she hugged deeply into it, wishing the nurse would return. After another minute would pass by the tearing would intensify as she buried her head into the pillow while sniffling, each minute seeming like an hour.
She returned a few minutes later with a pencil and notebook under one arm, and a glass of water and a small package of cookies in the other. She placed the cookies on the nightstand next to the bed, and moved to pass the water off to the girl "Now I promised hot coco, but that will take a minute to heat up, so why don't you drink some water first? You'll need it to stay hydrated." When she heard the sound of a pair of feet pushing into the room she slowly raised her head, scared on who it could be. Once she saw it was the nurse her fear seemed to evaporate as she looked up at the nurse with pleading eyes, meekly taking the glass of water into her small and slightly bruised hands.
When she heard the sound of a pair of feet pushing into the room she slowly raised her head, scared on who it could be. Once she saw it was the nurse her fear seemed to evaporate as she looked up at the nurse with pleading eyes, meekly taking the glass of water into her small and slightly bruised hands. She did not even lay an eye on the water, her eyes focusing on the nurse much like a puppy, not verbally responding, seeming extremely grateful that the nurse returned while not even drinking the water.
Not even noticing that the girl did not even drink, the nurses placed a pencil and paper on her lap "Can you spell your name for me?" Upon the request for her to spell her name she would blankly stare at the paper before looking up at her and back down at it before finally looking at her, seeming to be stumped. Seeing that she's not understanding, or incapable of answering, the Nurse once again gets up to leave. She stops short when she sees the fear written on the girl's face, and instead calls out from the doorway. "Can someone grab something written in a few languages? A travel pamphlet, something?" Whatever the answer was, it was muffled by the door.
The Nurse seemed to be satisfied with the answer however. Coming back to the bed, Furrowing her brow in thought, the Nurse noticed the girl had not drank any water, but was simply holding it. Very slowly, grasped the two tiny hands holding the cup, and guided them towards the girl's face. "It's just water sweetheart, and you really need to stay hydrated." The girl’s face was immediately filled with unfiltered joy when she saw that the nurse planned to stay with her, at least he now. The girl looked up at the nurse innocently as the nurse yelled something, seeming curious, on what was indeed going on. This look remained as the glass of water was guided to her face, at last the girl took a sip from it, seeming to understand what the nurse wanted her to do.
She went further than usual and slowly kept drinking until there was no water left, the glass of water she still kept pressed against her lips until it was taken back to the nightstand. Now after a string of the girl plainly not understanding her speech, the Nurse decided she would try one last tactic to get her to talk. This was to see if the girl was in real need of psychiatric help, mute, or simply didn't know the language. She was beginning to think it was the latter, so she said very slowly "My name is Karla Weiss." She points to herself in an exaggerated fashion "What is your name?" She points to the girl. The girl watched the woman point to herself and say her name, seeming to be confused when the point fell onto her. She would seem perplexed before finally speaking after keeping her mouth ajar for nearly ten seconds. “Karla Weiss. . .”
She seemed to repeat herself in a Galvarian accent, seemingly mimicking the same exact way the nurse said it, slow and all. Again she spoke the name “Karla Weiss.” In a bit of a quicker pace and in her own tone of voice, still sounding Galvarian. “Weiss. . .” She said, seemingly thinking on the name as if something was on her mind. “Weiss Weiss.” She said to herself, clearly pondering something. She then attempted to say it in an excited speed of talking, butchering the pronunciation completely as she broke away from mimicking the way the nurse herself said it. “Weiss Weiss!” Seeming to have a misunderstanding on what the nurse wanted her to do. “Weiss Weiss!” She said with even more enthusiasm, smiling greatly at the nurse. "Well, I know you can speak, but that pretty much confirms it's not my language" she says with a laugh "Now the real problem is figuring out how to get you to understand me." The nurse’s laugh would make the girl’s smile disappear, unsure if she had done something wrong. She would look concerned as her eyes fell from meeting the nurse’s, looking scared in her demeanor.
Karla ponders for a movement. Just then another nurse comes by and hands her what looks like a travel pamphlet. On the paper, it has several phrases in Ninhundish, Kanakadorikan, and Vizelian, all with their Galavarian translations. Karla then looks to her coworker saying "Why do you have this on hand? Nevermind, your a godsend" The other nurse shrugs, and mentions something about wanting to see the surrounding tourist spots.
She also mentions something about wanting the pamphlet back "Yes yes, would you do me another favor though? Could you get some of our benefactors to procure some dictionaries? And tell that agent Fischer he'll have to wait until we can get the patient to a reasonable degree of communication. Be sure to let him know that the dictionaries will make that quicker." The second nurse just sighs, and leaves the room. Karla then tries verbal communication one more time "I. am. Karla." again, pointing to herself in an exaggerated manner. She then takes the pencil and paper and writes it down, giving it to the girl. As the new nurse walks in she would attempt to hide underneath her blanket, shaking in fear, only the hair past her forehead peeking out as the two medical professionals talked, only peeking out when she heard the second nurse leave the room, meekly looking at the nurse as she attempted verbal communication once more.
The girl would look at the now written down name, squinting at it heavily as she seemed to study it. She looked back up at the nurse and repeated her name back to herself. “Karla. .” Mimicking the name once again, repeating it to herself twice more as she looked down at the paper, the pencil half hazardously held in a strange manner, like a dagger with the tip pointed towards her own direction. After a few more seconds before starting to write something down. What was done was a perfect recreation of the nurse’s name in her own handwriting, once done she would excitedly show it to the nurse much like a child showing their mother a drawing, excitedly saying “Karla!” as she did so. Karla was starting to notice a pattern.
This girl is clearly highly traumatized, and she seems to be in dire need of socialization. The girl seemed ready to cry at the first sign of a new person, or if it looked like Karla was going to leave. Definitely a sign of abandonment and likely trauma from being chased by her assailant. Deciding it would be better to keep the girl's spirits up, and to keep her engaged, Karla grabbed a cookie from the package on the nightstand. It looked like shortbread one could get from a vending machine. Offering it to the girl, she says "Very good! Here, this will help you keep your energy up. It’s good" rubbing her head, Karla thought to herself for a moment and sighed "Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me" The girl simply took the cookie in her hand and looked at Karla with pure confusion, taking a few seconds to think before seeming to offer the cookie to Karla with a great big smile.
Karla tried again with the cookie. Breaking it in half, she one piece, and offered the other to the girl "See? its food. It isn't exactly nutritious, but it's something solid." The girl seemed to refuse her half of a cookie, shaking her head horizontally, either not wanting to eat or perhaps being conscious of what sugar would do to her at this hour. Upon this Karla gave up. Reading the pamphlet her coworker had given her, Karla looked for any easy phrases.
"Aha!" she said triumphantly, when she came across a phrase saying 'I am not from here, where is your bathroom?'
The girl seemed concerned as Karla rubbed her head and sighed, quietly watching as the nurse read the pamphlet, the concern only growing as she watched Karla exclaim. Karla then showed the girl the pamphlet, Karla points out the phrase, in all 4 languages. "Do any of these look familiar?" The girl looked at the pamphlet and squinted at it before beginning to read it aloud. She read all the phrases in Kanadorikan and Ninhundish out loud that she could see, speaking all of them seemingly fluently and in their associated accents.
Holding the returned cookie in her hand, Karla sat dumfounded "My god" she mumbled. The fact that the girl could mimicked her own language was impressive enough, but now she was potentially fluent in 3 others. She began writing down a list of supplies, mainly books, she would need if she had any hope of getting the girl ready to speak to an OIA agent. No doubt that agent would be privy to any report she made about this strange patient, and up her ass about it tomorrow before the ink was dry. She couldn't find herself ruing the situation however. The hospital's main clientele generally meant she didn't see many patients in a year.
Especially not foreigners. The girl looked at the nurse with her innocent smile as she started noting stuff down, leaning over a bit to try to see what she was doing. After a few more moments of preparing the room for the girl to go to sleep, she decided to see if she could get a word in Galavarian to her. pointing to a phrase in Kanadorikan that said 'My name is [insert name here]'. she then pointed to its Galavarian translation and said "My name is Karla Weiss, what's yours?" She looked at the travel guide in confusion before reading the Kanadorikan translation out loud in a kanadorikan accent, stopping where she would have to insert her name, only looking at it blankly before looking back up at the nurse, not saying anything.
Deflating a bit, Karla sighed "If only it were that easy. Well young one, I think that's all for tonight. You've gone through quite the ordeal. I think it's time you get some sleep." To make sure her point was getting across, she made an exaggerated sleeping gesture, then pointed to the girl. She just hoped it translated and it wouldn't come across that the poor girl was being abandoned. "I'll be at the nurse's station if you need me. Wait, you still can't understand a word I say" she trailed off, lost in thought. Then, she grabbed a remote lying on the nightstand next to the bed, and showed it to the girl. It had a singular red button on it. Karla made a show of pressing it, and a few moments after another Nurse appeared in the door, scolding Karla for the false alarm.
They leave shortly thereafter "See? help is a button press away" Patting the girl's head, she says as sweetly as possible "Try to get some sleep young one. I'll see about getting you something that will help you talk in the morning." With that, she gave the girl a reassuring smile, and moved to leave the room, flicking the lights out as she did. Going off the assumption that the girl was probably going to be afraid of the dark to some degree, she left the door slightly ajar on the way out.
Attached to her right arm she felt a small tug of pressure. After all she has endured she dared not look upon what it was or her surroundings in general, just hoping and praying to herself that she simply got snagged onto something. In this moment a cold breeze from the room’s air conditioning unit ravaged her weakened body. She attempted to hug onto herself for warmth, only pulling the unknown tension further near her. In this her breathing became audibly more panicked as she felt a sting of pain when her hands clasped onto one of her three wounds. She took her next step, collapsing completely onto her knees and further down, complexly face down, a loud thump coming from this incident shortly followed by the metal clang of a IV pole. Her eyes closed as she cringed in pain, a whimper soon following with pain crying then taking off the corner of the room that she took up, only growing louder and more pained as each second passed into each other into the next one.
The room was silent for a few more moments, before footsteps rushed to the door. The door was then thrown open by what one would assume to be the nurse assigned to her care. The nurse was on the older side with streaks of gray seeping into her auburn hair, which was tied into a tight bun. She gasped at the empty bed, and frantically scanned the room for the child, finally resting her eyes on her hiding place at the other side of the room. "Good heavens child what are you doing out of bed? You are in no fit state to be doing anything but resting." Taking a few steps toward her, she says "You must not have a clue what's happened. You've been through quite the ordeal dearie. Let me help you get back into bed." she bent down to get on her level. The girl barely raised her head sheepishly upon hearing the door being thrown open.
Upon seeing the nurse enter the room tears would overtake her even more so than before, although she attempts to hold in her pained crying as to try to make a alert to her current position, only the faint whisper coming from her as her head fell back to the tiled floor, exhaustion and weakness overtaking her as she felt her a heavy weight on her eyes, forcing them to close. Her body’s forced attempt to make her rest only was momentary as she heard the concerned comments from the nurse, forcing her eyes to once again open as she saw the nurse approach her. The girl’s eyes were filled with confusion and fear. It was clear she was paralyzed with fear as she shook and shivered uncontrollably as the nurse bent down to her own level. At this point, a comparatively younger man in a black suit appears in the doorway. His hair is a light brown, cut in a military style high and tight. Without giving the man much regard, the nurse said over her shoulder "Just because she's awake doesn't mean she's fit to see visitors. We will call you when she is ready for that." She became even more scared as the man in black entered. His imposing appearance made her bury her head head into her outstretched arms, her naked forearms putting a warmth in between her face and the cold flooring.
During the nurse’s and the G-Man’s short and brief conversation the girl dared not move, hoping that if she did not hear a sound besides her pained breathing then they would focus on each other and forget about her. The man simply responds coldly "Ma'am, I understand you have the authority here when it comes to a patient, but this is a matter of national security. We have to ask the young miss here a few questions." Standing up, the nurse huffs "Your right, the hospital staff does reserve the right to withhold patients, even from the likes of you. We are going to exercise that right. Go take it up with the director of the hospital if you have a problem with that, but if you wouldn't mind, I have work to do" The man gives no indication of mood, and responds fatly "I left my number at the front desk, I expect a call if anything develops. We need to speak to your patient as soon as possible" With that, he leaves. Turning back to the girl, the Nurse says "I'm sorry about that dearie, now come on, let's get you to bed" She then moves to pick her up.
The seconds in between the government agent leaving and the nurse’s silence made her briefly believe that the two had forgotten about her, in order to check the results she sheepishly raised her head, tears running down her eyes as she saw the nurse turn back to her and begin speaking. She did not respond verbally, instead frighteningly attempting to move herself back with her hands, her body shaking either out of the autumn night and or unfiltered fear, flinching as if expecting to have been hit as soon as the nurse touched her fragile frame. Her breathing became more panicked and more desperate as her eyes began to swell with even more tears, sniffling constantly interrupting her breathing as her messy brown hair draped past her neck on nearly all sides, creating a small veil of a dozen small strands in front of her face.
Noting the girl's hypersensitive state, she very carefully laid her down on the hospital bed, and laid a blanket out. The child would very visibly try to hold in even more tears as she was actually picked up by the nurse, expecting an outcome much akin to being tossed out of the nearby window into the grasp of death. Despite still being very frightened the girl was somewhat calmed by simply being placed on the bed, her confused eyes staring directly up at the nurse. Brushing the hair out of her face the nurse coo's "shhhh shh sh. It's alright, your safe now. No need to cry, young one." The Nurse decides to sit on the side of the bed, and lays a hand on the sobbing girl's head, and begins to caress it.
Once again she flinches in anticipation of a strike as the nurse’s hand gets close to her face to wipe away the hair from her face, not responding verbally to her, only pulling the blanket closer to cover the near entirety of her body. While she does this, she starts to review some of the documentation left behind from what can be assumed to be the surgery. She frowns when she notices the personal details section for the patient info was left completely blank. Her eyes fell from matching the nurse’s own as she began to review the patient information.
In this meantime her eyes would fall upon the tube attached to herself leading to a IV bag, this she seemed to become frightened by, clasping her untubed hand onto the tube connecting her to the bag. Looking away from the clipboard for a moment, she grabs a tissue from the night stand next to the bed, and dabbed some of the tears that had escaped onto the girl's cheeks away. "I promise you'll be as good as new in no time, I just need you to take some deep breaths and calm down for me, young one. Do you want something to eat? Or maybe a drink? I think some hot coco and maybe a cookie would do you wonders"
For once the nurse’s touch did not make the child flinch, as she seemed to be wholly enraptured by the tube. In this she seemed to have stopped crying, a skeptical look overtaking her eyes as she tilted her head ever so slightly to get a better look on it, despite this change in behavior she continued to snuggle through her now normalized breathing, seeing to have been soothed by the nurse’s kind tone and cadence at least in part. Her eyes narrowed on it as the nurse began to talk, seeming to not really process it the girl would suddenly begin to weakly tug at the tube connecting her to the bag, clearly either distressed by it or wanting it to be removed. After half a second her next tug on the tube became more forced as her legs subconsciously curled in further into the blanket for warmth.
Taking some solace that the child had at least calmed down some, the Nurse decided to try a different tactic to get some words out of her "Can you tell me your name sweetheart?" Seeing her tug at the IV, she cautioned "try not to fuss about with that, it's been keeping you healthy the last few days. I can remove it now that you're awake, but you'll have to promise me you'll eat something ok?" she said sweetly. Not waiting for an answer, she removes the IV. It hurts, but after a flurry of movements from the nurse she have a bandage over where the IV was. The child remained completely absent of word, not even seeming to register that the nurse had said anything. As the nurse did her work the girl would flinch as pain momentarily eclipsed her, once the bandaid was applied she put some pressure on the area with her free hand, her eyes fixating on it as she felt her pulse and heartbeat "Now, what do you say to that hot coco?"
After a couple seconds she seemed to recognize that the nurse was indeed speaking, looking up at her with thankfulness that soon turned to complete and utter confusion, her head tilting as she watched the nurse’s mouth move, yet she did not respond. All she did was subconsciously rub her arm where the tube was once inserted, the brown color of the bandaid contrasting greatly with her extremely pale skin. She seemed to almost mouth something for half a second before giving up, just continuing to look up at the kind stranger. Realizing that the girl may not be able to speak, the Nurse got up, and left the room in a hurry.
The girl seemed to panic when the nurse stood up and walked up in a hurry. After half a minute into the nurse being gone the girl would begin to tear up, not sure why the kind woman has left her. As a way to seek comfort she grabbed the pillow that rested against the frame of the hospital bed and folded it in half like a taco, holding it in between her arms as she hugged deeply into it, wishing the nurse would return. After another minute would pass by the tearing would intensify as she buried her head into the pillow while sniffling, each minute seeming like an hour.
She returned a few minutes later with a pencil and notebook under one arm, and a glass of water and a small package of cookies in the other. She placed the cookies on the nightstand next to the bed, and moved to pass the water off to the girl "Now I promised hot coco, but that will take a minute to heat up, so why don't you drink some water first? You'll need it to stay hydrated." When she heard the sound of a pair of feet pushing into the room she slowly raised her head, scared on who it could be. Once she saw it was the nurse her fear seemed to evaporate as she looked up at the nurse with pleading eyes, meekly taking the glass of water into her small and slightly bruised hands.
When she heard the sound of a pair of feet pushing into the room she slowly raised her head, scared on who it could be. Once she saw it was the nurse her fear seemed to evaporate as she looked up at the nurse with pleading eyes, meekly taking the glass of water into her small and slightly bruised hands. She did not even lay an eye on the water, her eyes focusing on the nurse much like a puppy, not verbally responding, seeming extremely grateful that the nurse returned while not even drinking the water.
Not even noticing that the girl did not even drink, the nurses placed a pencil and paper on her lap "Can you spell your name for me?" Upon the request for her to spell her name she would blankly stare at the paper before looking up at her and back down at it before finally looking at her, seeming to be stumped. Seeing that she's not understanding, or incapable of answering, the Nurse once again gets up to leave. She stops short when she sees the fear written on the girl's face, and instead calls out from the doorway. "Can someone grab something written in a few languages? A travel pamphlet, something?" Whatever the answer was, it was muffled by the door.
The Nurse seemed to be satisfied with the answer however. Coming back to the bed, Furrowing her brow in thought, the Nurse noticed the girl had not drank any water, but was simply holding it. Very slowly, grasped the two tiny hands holding the cup, and guided them towards the girl's face. "It's just water sweetheart, and you really need to stay hydrated." The girl’s face was immediately filled with unfiltered joy when she saw that the nurse planned to stay with her, at least he now. The girl looked up at the nurse innocently as the nurse yelled something, seeming curious, on what was indeed going on. This look remained as the glass of water was guided to her face, at last the girl took a sip from it, seeming to understand what the nurse wanted her to do.
She went further than usual and slowly kept drinking until there was no water left, the glass of water she still kept pressed against her lips until it was taken back to the nightstand. Now after a string of the girl plainly not understanding her speech, the Nurse decided she would try one last tactic to get her to talk. This was to see if the girl was in real need of psychiatric help, mute, or simply didn't know the language. She was beginning to think it was the latter, so she said very slowly "My name is Karla Weiss." She points to herself in an exaggerated fashion "What is your name?" She points to the girl. The girl watched the woman point to herself and say her name, seeming to be confused when the point fell onto her. She would seem perplexed before finally speaking after keeping her mouth ajar for nearly ten seconds. “Karla Weiss. . .”
She seemed to repeat herself in a Galvarian accent, seemingly mimicking the same exact way the nurse said it, slow and all. Again she spoke the name “Karla Weiss.” In a bit of a quicker pace and in her own tone of voice, still sounding Galvarian. “Weiss. . .” She said, seemingly thinking on the name as if something was on her mind. “Weiss Weiss.” She said to herself, clearly pondering something. She then attempted to say it in an excited speed of talking, butchering the pronunciation completely as she broke away from mimicking the way the nurse herself said it. “Weiss Weiss!” Seeming to have a misunderstanding on what the nurse wanted her to do. “Weiss Weiss!” She said with even more enthusiasm, smiling greatly at the nurse. "Well, I know you can speak, but that pretty much confirms it's not my language" she says with a laugh "Now the real problem is figuring out how to get you to understand me." The nurse’s laugh would make the girl’s smile disappear, unsure if she had done something wrong. She would look concerned as her eyes fell from meeting the nurse’s, looking scared in her demeanor.
Karla ponders for a movement. Just then another nurse comes by and hands her what looks like a travel pamphlet. On the paper, it has several phrases in Ninhundish, Kanakadorikan, and Vizelian, all with their Galavarian translations. Karla then looks to her coworker saying "Why do you have this on hand? Nevermind, your a godsend" The other nurse shrugs, and mentions something about wanting to see the surrounding tourist spots.
She also mentions something about wanting the pamphlet back "Yes yes, would you do me another favor though? Could you get some of our benefactors to procure some dictionaries? And tell that agent Fischer he'll have to wait until we can get the patient to a reasonable degree of communication. Be sure to let him know that the dictionaries will make that quicker." The second nurse just sighs, and leaves the room. Karla then tries verbal communication one more time "I. am. Karla." again, pointing to herself in an exaggerated manner. She then takes the pencil and paper and writes it down, giving it to the girl. As the new nurse walks in she would attempt to hide underneath her blanket, shaking in fear, only the hair past her forehead peeking out as the two medical professionals talked, only peeking out when she heard the second nurse leave the room, meekly looking at the nurse as she attempted verbal communication once more.
The girl would look at the now written down name, squinting at it heavily as she seemed to study it. She looked back up at the nurse and repeated her name back to herself. “Karla. .” Mimicking the name once again, repeating it to herself twice more as she looked down at the paper, the pencil half hazardously held in a strange manner, like a dagger with the tip pointed towards her own direction. After a few more seconds before starting to write something down. What was done was a perfect recreation of the nurse’s name in her own handwriting, once done she would excitedly show it to the nurse much like a child showing their mother a drawing, excitedly saying “Karla!” as she did so. Karla was starting to notice a pattern.
This girl is clearly highly traumatized, and she seems to be in dire need of socialization. The girl seemed ready to cry at the first sign of a new person, or if it looked like Karla was going to leave. Definitely a sign of abandonment and likely trauma from being chased by her assailant. Deciding it would be better to keep the girl's spirits up, and to keep her engaged, Karla grabbed a cookie from the package on the nightstand. It looked like shortbread one could get from a vending machine. Offering it to the girl, she says "Very good! Here, this will help you keep your energy up. It’s good" rubbing her head, Karla thought to herself for a moment and sighed "Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me" The girl simply took the cookie in her hand and looked at Karla with pure confusion, taking a few seconds to think before seeming to offer the cookie to Karla with a great big smile.
Karla tried again with the cookie. Breaking it in half, she one piece, and offered the other to the girl "See? its food. It isn't exactly nutritious, but it's something solid." The girl seemed to refuse her half of a cookie, shaking her head horizontally, either not wanting to eat or perhaps being conscious of what sugar would do to her at this hour. Upon this Karla gave up. Reading the pamphlet her coworker had given her, Karla looked for any easy phrases.
"Aha!" she said triumphantly, when she came across a phrase saying 'I am not from here, where is your bathroom?'
The girl seemed concerned as Karla rubbed her head and sighed, quietly watching as the nurse read the pamphlet, the concern only growing as she watched Karla exclaim. Karla then showed the girl the pamphlet, Karla points out the phrase, in all 4 languages. "Do any of these look familiar?" The girl looked at the pamphlet and squinted at it before beginning to read it aloud. She read all the phrases in Kanadorikan and Ninhundish out loud that she could see, speaking all of them seemingly fluently and in their associated accents.
Holding the returned cookie in her hand, Karla sat dumfounded "My god" she mumbled. The fact that the girl could mimicked her own language was impressive enough, but now she was potentially fluent in 3 others. She began writing down a list of supplies, mainly books, she would need if she had any hope of getting the girl ready to speak to an OIA agent. No doubt that agent would be privy to any report she made about this strange patient, and up her ass about it tomorrow before the ink was dry. She couldn't find herself ruing the situation however. The hospital's main clientele generally meant she didn't see many patients in a year.
Especially not foreigners. The girl looked at the nurse with her innocent smile as she started noting stuff down, leaning over a bit to try to see what she was doing. After a few more moments of preparing the room for the girl to go to sleep, she decided to see if she could get a word in Galavarian to her. pointing to a phrase in Kanadorikan that said 'My name is [insert name here]'. she then pointed to its Galavarian translation and said "My name is Karla Weiss, what's yours?" She looked at the travel guide in confusion before reading the Kanadorikan translation out loud in a kanadorikan accent, stopping where she would have to insert her name, only looking at it blankly before looking back up at the nurse, not saying anything.
Deflating a bit, Karla sighed "If only it were that easy. Well young one, I think that's all for tonight. You've gone through quite the ordeal. I think it's time you get some sleep." To make sure her point was getting across, she made an exaggerated sleeping gesture, then pointed to the girl. She just hoped it translated and it wouldn't come across that the poor girl was being abandoned. "I'll be at the nurse's station if you need me. Wait, you still can't understand a word I say" she trailed off, lost in thought. Then, she grabbed a remote lying on the nightstand next to the bed, and showed it to the girl. It had a singular red button on it. Karla made a show of pressing it, and a few moments after another Nurse appeared in the door, scolding Karla for the false alarm.
They leave shortly thereafter "See? help is a button press away" Patting the girl's head, she says as sweetly as possible "Try to get some sleep young one. I'll see about getting you something that will help you talk in the morning." With that, she gave the girl a reassuring smile, and moved to leave the room, flicking the lights out as she did. Going off the assumption that the girl was probably going to be afraid of the dark to some degree, she left the door slightly ajar on the way out.
Khaw & Keaa- Moderator
- Posts : 28
Join date : 2020-02-07
The Wakeup
Hey Ditter,
Sorry to bother you about case 782B again, but have you ever actually read these files? So far they seem highly mundane. What am I supposed to make of, besides factors I can’t discuss here, a bog standard attempted murder case? Did the chief give you any indication on what I’m specifically looking at these files for, or am I supposed to be compiling this for some sort of UNCLASS briefing? Elias was no help, he pointed me to the director’s office for any serious inquiries, which we both know is a fool's errand in this climate. Maybe we can discuss it in more detail, at Gertrude’s pub downtown.
-William Dernback
An email response dated within the hour reads
Dernback,
Formal request from the department of the director, you are not to discuss file #F8-782B with anyone outside of the investigation. Seeing as that's just you at the moment, I’d take that as your compiling a briefing. Sorry I can’t be of more help, I’m swamped with my own work at the moment and couldn't request to be put on your team if I wanted to. I will take you up on those drinks though, I’ll meet you there around 7. Sarah would kill me if I went straight from work to the pub.
See you there
-Ditter
…
November 2nd, 2013
0800
King H. Wolf Memorial hospital
Agent Fischer hadn’t spent much time on his first special assignment, and he already found himself loathing it. The report from the overnight nurse was about as bad as it could be for the situation. No details on the gunman, and the two key witnesses being children he, for the moment, had no access to. He sat in the hospital’s office wing thumbing through the report from the nurse, and got more displeased as he read it. Eventually, he got fed up and tossed the file across the room.
“How the hell am I supposed to find a gunman from a child who can't speak the language and a prince that's not allowed visitors!” he shouted angrily.
He leaned back in the desk chair, and cursed himself for taking the assignment so readily when everyone else passed it up. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. Looking over the notes the night nurse had left him, he mumbled
“Aw, fuck it. Dictionaries it is.”
Picking up the phone sitting on the desk he starts to dial a number, taking a sip of coffee while the dial tone plays. He took the time out to curse that it had gotten lukewarm on him, just in time for the other end to pick up.
“Tsk. Coffee here - yeah. This is Fischer. Yeah, can you transfer me to acquisitions? Yeah I’ll hold.”
Giving another heavy sigh, he waited to be transferred. He took the interlude to down the rest of his cup of coffee, grimacing at the poor taste. After a few agonizing minutes of waiting, he finally got someone on the other end.
“It’s Fischer. Yeah, with the Marigold Street case. I need to put in a priority request for a few items. Yeah, check with the old man if you need authentication. What items? Uh, yeah”
He flips through the nurse’s notes, until he gets to requested materials
“Kanakadorikan and Ninhundish to Galavrian dictionaries. A translator if you have one. I know you aren't personnel just make it easier on me goddamnit. I’m also gonna need some extra food resources for the victim, along with some physical therapy equipment and various children's toys. Look I’m passing on a request from the hospital staff, who am I to question this? Yeah I can fax the list over. Alright, goodbye.”
He tossed the phone back on the desk, not bothering to hang it back up.
“Goddammit, it's gonna be a long day”
Was all he had to say about his situation.
…
November 2nd, 2013
0900
King H. Wolf Memorial hospital
The day nurse walks cautiously into the room housing the mystery girl. The Nurse was a man, on the younger side compared to Karla, with a mop of brown hair haphazardly fixed to look presentable atop his head. In his hands, he carried a tray of what could loosely be described as breakfast. On a plate sits runny eggs, some slightly burnt toast, and a glass of milk. Placing the tray gently on the nightstand, as to not to wake the girl, he looks at the information sheet above the bed.
“No name? Karla, you must be losing your charm”
He chuckles as he mumbles to himself. It’s at this moment, he notices the girl is staring him down with bags under eyes.
“Well good morning little one”
His eyes scan the portion of the info sheet detailing her lack of understanding of the language
“Ah. Well. That explains it”
As the nurse surreptitious entered the room the dark brown eyes of the young girl traced his movement as her eyes squinted heavily to identify if he is friend or foe, seemingly unable to identify if she had seen him before it took him stopping his motion for her to come to her conclusion. It came just as he seemed to notice her, her eyes being filled with a dangerous cocktail of fear and exhaustion. Her breathing seemed to be near existent as she attempted to keep her profile down as much as possible, hoping in her delirium that he would forget about her. This look remained as she sat in her own silence as the Nurse briefly addressed her and talked to himself, her eyes never breaking from her gaze upon him despite the extreme amount of dedication it took the child to maintain it in her current state of exhaustion. He said nothing for a moment, kept reading the information document from above the bed.
"Potentially fluent in Kanakadorikan and Ninhundish? What? That can't be right'' He keeps reading, laughs, and chucks the report over his shoulder.
"What a load of bull Karla. Nothing better to do with your night?"" He muses to himself.
Finally focusing on the girl, he notices her fear, and more importantly to him, the baggy eyes.
"Hey. you didn't sleep. Your lucky your too young for it otherwise I'd just stick you with the juice to make sure you slept.''
Slowly, it began to dawn on him that the girl really couldn't understand a lick of Galavarian, he put his skepticism aside.
"Food" He says in extremely broken Ninhundish.
He motions for the girl to sit up and take the plate. Without waiting to see if she actually eats, he grabs a piece of paper that bore Karla's handwriting that was hiding behind the original report. On it is a message for the new nurse, which he scoffs at, and several basic phrases in Kanakadorikan, Ninhundish, and Galavarian. Clearly she got busy after the girl fell asleep attempting to create some basic way to communicate.
The girl seemed to hide even more into her blanket as he motioned for the girl to sit up. Her Herzanan eyes remained unflinching as to not break contact with the new nurse, still unsure on if he is friend or foe, or so it seems. Her tone says it all, the girl would reply to the nurse’s instructions. All that came out from her was one word, layered in fear but also a hint of defiance. "Nein." Her voice cracked as she meekly said, bordering on the edge of being a whisper. Her accent was fully Ninhundish, the specific one coming from the capital city of Frankdorf.
Not needing a dictionary to translate her refusal, he shrugged "Ok, have it your way then." He says in his own tongue.
Knowing the girl can't understand it He leaves the room. leaving the girl alone for several minutes, before returning with an IV, and some tools to apply it. He reads the translation paper and says, once again in broken Ninhundish
"Eat"
He points to the plate of still warm food. For effect, he waggled the needle portion of the IV. He wears a half smile on his face, clearly amused at the girl's defiance. Pondering for another moment, he goes to read another phrase from the note that had 'helpful for you' scrawled over it with no translation
"I. am. Here. To. Help. Don't. mind. my manners. I. am. idiot." He says, unsure of what it was he was actually saying
"Huh. Wonder what that means" he wonders aloud in Galavarian
In the elapsed time of the nurse being gone the girl would be relieved off her fears, glad that her one word of defiance was seemingly enough to get her to leave. Her first train of thought was now to escape but her body and mind betrayed her, weak from the lack of sleep she had none of the energy that would be needed to make her immediate exit. As the girl attempted and failed to think of a plan of action her eyes ever so slowly began to edge closer and closer to shutting, eventually it happened. The girl was laying on her side in a fragile sleep. She got a few or maybe even five plus in before she was pulled back to reality, hearing footsteps. What she saw was a menacing sight, the nurse standing at the entrance and only exit with a IV bag and the associated tools, saying the exact one word he did as a demand as he approached. The girl immediately shrieked before throwing back the blanket over herself as it had slipped off as she turned in sleep. The irrational little thing’s voice was filled with fear so palpable it could be used as a weapon as he waggled the needle.
“I don’t wanna eat! I am not hungry!”
The yell was muffled slightly by the fact she threw herself fully under the blanket, terrified as she hid under its thin cloth, the silhouette of the nurse haunting her. Confusion was only painted onto her fear as she heard him speak in broken Ninhundish towards her again, her response would seem panicked as she spoke quickly, the same tone of absolutely fear remaining
“You are scary!”
"Well, that wasn't much more than I expected. Alright. You get one more Mr. nice guy routine before I say fuck it and bust out the needle." he says flatly.
Sitting next to her covered form on the bed, he grabs the cover with one hand, and a piece of toast in the other.
"Alright kiddo, it's time for you to eat" He firmly pulls the covers down enough for her head to be revealed.
Holding the toast in front of her face, he says.
"Eat, please"
Once more in broken ninhundish. He makes sure to hold the covers so she cannot pull them back up herself. He also sits in a way that means, even if she could get up, he could easily make sure she stayed in bed.
The girl would begin to start shaking uncontrollably as she saw the silhouette come closer and as she felt the bed lean a bit to the side as extra weight was laid on the frame as the nurse sat next to her. She attempted to keep in her fears, hoping that the terrifying nurse would just go away. She would scream as if she was getting murdered as the nurse held up the covers, her eyes swelling with tears as she would begin bawling her eyes out. His smile makes her cry even harder as she can barely see him anymore due to the tears clogging her eyes and her still laying down, gravity not allowed to do its work.
"Whelp, I tried." he says, his bemusement only deepening.
He then grabs the girl's arm, and starts to apply the ointment to numb the area, in preparation for the IV. His grip is firm, but not painful. It is however painfully clear to the girl her arm won't be moving until he's done. Before inserting the IV, he looked the girl over, and sighed.
"You are Karla's problem as soon as I'm done here. Kids aren't something that's in my job description."
He loses his joyful demeanor, and quietly moves to finish the IV. surprisingly, it doesn't hurt. He then gets up, and leaves the room again for another five minutes. When he comes back, he has a cup of water, a funnel, and a bottle of pills with him. Taking a look at your face again, he shakes his head a bit, before forcing a smile.
"Alright. last thing before I make you someone else's problem." He reads the note again and says
"take, sleep"" shaking the bottle of pills. He procures one from the bottle, and attempts to hand it to the girl.
Reality hits in as the girl realizes that she is completely at the mercy of the hospital’s staff. Her panic only grew as her arm was grabbed, somehow screaming louder. A single repeated word came from her as she cried
“Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!”
She repeated nonstop throughout the entire process, her pleas only growing louder as she saw the needle, her shaking intensifying.
“PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!”
Her pleading would stop as the IV tube was inserted, but her crying would not as it stayed constant. As soon as the nurse would turn around and exit she would begin to pull at the tube in a panic, doing so until it was out. She cried the entire time he was gone and continued doing so as he entered with his new items. As he approached she would push herself up against the bed frame, very much so terrified as she subconsciously rubbed the spot where the tube once was, (probably) smearing some blood onto her forearm.
Noticing the red spot, and the IV tube hanging uselessly away from the bed. the man exclaims
"Oh for fucks sake!"
He drops the pills, and runs to grab some gauze from an emergency medical chest attached to the wall. Examining her arm intensely he checks to make sure the entire apparatus was removed. satisfied it was just a wound with nothing left in it, he began to apply the gauze. His amused face is gone now, now replaced with a mix of concern and apprehension.
I'm gonna catch hell for this, he thought to himself.
Finishing up the bandage he looks at the pills for a moment, before finally saying
"Alright, I've done all I can here. I'll take the ass chewing over whatever this is"
With that, he draws the curtains so the room is dark again, and leaves, shutting the lights off as he goes. The girl hears the faint sound of the door locking behind him. Several hours would pass, not that the girl could tell how many, but the sun would hang lazily in the sky before the door would open again, this time a familiar face peaking in, to see if the girl was awake.
Her crying would continue throughout the entire affair, having caused quite the commotion herself; she was paralyzed with fear as the nurse attempted to treat her. Her fear was only intensified by being left alone in the darkness, all by herself, even more so when she heard the door lock. In just half a minute she would begin hyperventilating as all she could see around her was black. For the next two hours she cried her eyes out, hoping that someone would come back. Her wish was left unfulfilled. After what felt like a personal trip to hell she finally used the last of her crying, drifting out to sleep as she sobbed into her pillow. Karla would find the girl passed out on the bed, lying face down, with her head and wounded arm hanging off the side of the bed as the pillow was on the floor and the blanket only went from her ankles to her stomach. The hand she used to rub her wound was still bloodied and laid where the pillow would have normally been for head support, smearing it onto the sheets. The child’s hair was even more messy than before, somehow. . .
Seeing the girl's pitiful, but unconscious state, Karla's heart would shatter. As quietly as she could, she crept up to the sleeping girl and pulled the covers so they were covering her properly. She then left the room for around 20 minutes, and came back with a pair of books under one arm, and a bag containing some medical supplies in the other. Before sitting down in the chair, she took the time to read over the notes left by the last nurse. She dismissed them in a similar fashion to her counterpart, and began reading while the girl slept. The books' title read "Ninhundish to Galavaira, a nutshell." and "Kanakadorikan to Galavaria, a primer" The medical supplies in the bag consist of extra gauze, a rag, and what looks to be various liquids.
the girl would sleep peacefully for the extra hour. Suddenly the girl would begin tossing and turning in the bed, murmuring to herself in an unknown and Herzanan sounding language, the murmur would then increase in pitch and volume, one word that seemed to pop up back over again was , Karla, Karla. Slowly, over the course of two minutes it would become screaming and a sleepy sob. Only seconds after the screaming started she woke up, being jolted awake as screamed in a panic, yelling in genuine fear with tears in her eyes. She hugged onto herself as the yelling turned to a gentle and pitiful sob
Seeing the girl's distress, Karla would hold off on waking her from it, letting it instead run its course. She took a note of the speech in Herzanan, though omitted the exact speech of the girl. If she could understand what was being said through the sobbing, she didn't write it down. While she tossed and turned she quickly left the room, returning before the girl was done with her fit with a glass of water and a plate of cookies, seemingly home made. While the girl held herself, Karla reached out to her whispering
"Hush child, it's ok. It was only a dream."
cursing herself slightly, remembering the girl can't understand her. She instead elected to brush the hair out of her face while letting her cry it out. In much better Kanakadorikan than his counterpart managed Ninhundish she said
"Calm, I am here to help." She sat on the edge of the bed, and attempted to grasp one of the girl's hands
Without a single moment to think the girl would immediately hug onto Karla, clinging on as tight as she could, not fully registering what was happening in full. The girl would attempt to bury her head into the Nurse herself, crying and sniffling, not shaking though as she heard Karla’s soothing voice in a language she could actually understand
Being taken aback by the girl suddenly trusting her, Karla decided to press her advantage. First, she let the girl cry into her shirt for a few moments, while she grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket. Before reading from it, she gives the girl's head a reassuring pat, and reads aloud in Kanakadorikan
"You injured yourself. Can I fix it?"
Not waiting for an answer, the girl puts the piece of paper back, and wets a rag with a spray bottle, and attempts to clean off her bloody hands.
"You did not eat either" she says again in broken Kanakadorikan
The girl’s sobs would stop as Karla talked to her, surprised that now communication is now truly possible. She looked off in embarrassment and attempted to keep her hands to herself.
“I am okay. I do not need fixing. . .” The girl fluently replied, not resisting besides attempting to keep her arms towards herself.
“I am not hungry. . .” The girl said as she trailed off, lying to both herself and the nurse in order to feign strength.
Cocking her head to one side, Karla would nervously laugh
"sorry, no understand" in kanakadorikan.
She quickly finishes wiping the blood from the child's hands, and then grabs a blank piece of paper and pencil from her bag.
"Write." she says in Kanakadorikan.
While she waits, she reads the cheat sheet again, and attempts more complex sentences. This one is much more broken then the last few phrases
"You are hurt. Badly. you need rest. and help. Let me help." Karla says motioning to the girl's arm.
deciding that her butchery of the language wasn't bad enough that the girl couldn't understand her, she continued
"You need to eat. You have not eaten in too long. I brought something no child can say no two."
She processes the plate of cookies, and tries to hand her one after she finishes writing. She carries a big smile, but behind it is hidden grave concern.
The child’s glee and excitement would evaporate within seconds as her mouth was ajar for several seconds, her embarrassment would only grow as she would talk fast and frantically, whining
“Why did you have to tease me like that? That isn’t very nice! For once I thought someone here could understand me. It is so frustrating! This place is so confusing!”
She stares at the paper with deeply disappointed eyes before putting lead to paper, writing in very neat Kanadorikan with her left hand and the pencil held the opposite way, like a concealed knife. ‘I want to leave.’ She writes simply before Karla continues to talk. A look of genuine confusion implanted itself on her face as she then continued writing ‘Why do you want?’ She looks at Karla with slight amusement as she butchers the language before saying
“What time is it?”
It only took a few seconds for her to remember that Karla couldn’t speak a sentence, so with a frown she started writing again. ‘What time is it?’
Happy that you were at least talking more, and taking the time out to write, Karla said gleefully
"Yes! progress! Now if I can just get you to keep down some food I'd call today a success."
reading the paper, her smile would turn into a frown. She'd read her cheat sheet again, and struggle to find the right words
"You are hurt. I need to help you. There's a bad man out there we need you help to find" she says in kanakadorikan.
Concern is etched onto her face. It morphs into confusion when she reads the second half of the girl's writing.
"Time?" she says in Galavarian
"It's around 5pm sweetheart"
switching to her broken kanakadorikan, she says
"Why? Why don't you eat? It's been 3 days since you are hurt"
The girl would begin writing again. ‘Why would you want to find him? He has gestalt, you can not find him.’ She calmly wrote down before looking up to see the frown. Seeing this sadness the girl would look sad herself before continuing to write ‘Why do you call me that?’ A look of confusion was on her face as she muttered something to herself ‘It has been one night. I need to leave. I am not hungry.’ Just as she would finish writing the girl’s stomach would loudly roar.
Her frown would only deepen at the latest batch of writing. She struggled to understand the words on the page.
"I don't understand. We find" she finally says
After another few minutes translating your writing she says again
"Call you?"
When she hears the girl's stomach clearly announcing that she's hungry, she'd get a slight smile back and lightly chuckle
"I think it disagree"
After she says this, the government agent from the other day appears in the doorway, saying to Karla
"Alright, you win. Mystery girl over there can't speak a lick of the home tongue, and is classified as a foreigner. Which now means those assholes in group get to get involved. Happy now?"
He says, clearly annoyed at the whole situation. Pushing a cartful of books into the room, he adds
"Here. some of the supplies you requested. I expect she'll be able to speak soon"
Looking at the girl, he says in near perfect Ninhundish "The bad man won't be able to stay hidden from us for too long. Don't worry."
He flashes a genuinely reassuring smile, before returning to Karla with his business like stoicism
"And because this makes it easier on me, you're officially her caretaker until you can turn her over for an interview or we track down some next of kin."
Upon the seeming promise that Karla made the girl would fervently shake her head side to side, obviously believing that such a thing is not possible, especially whoever she works with. She would continue writing at Karla’s seeming confusion ‘Sweetheart?’ She seemed stumped as she wrote down the word, questioning why it was used on her. She was just about to write further before she noticed the man in the hallway. Immediately the girl would push herself up against the bedframe to get some distance and then cover herself up to her neck with the blanket, clearly on edge, her eyes looking like daggers as they spoke in the language that she could not understand, although the gaze would soften as she saw the books be pushed into the room, curious now more than anything, looking up with surprise as she heard him speak Ninhundish with the majority of fluency, not waiting a second she moved a bit forward as she talked excitedly in Ninhundish
“He is very good. You will not find him.” The genuine smile caught her off guard as she buried her face in her blanket as blush filled her face.
Without answering her, agent Fischer chuckles to himself, and walks out the door.
Letting a genuine smile fall back on her face, Karla laughed as she read the question. Not knowing how to respond to it in a language she could understand, she simply patted her head, and smiled, hoping that would get the point across. Looking at the books, she scratched her chin before picking one up. It was a book for children meant to translate Kankadorika to Galavarian. Excitedly, Karla hands the book over saying in Kanadorika
"read, understand!"
Her words are quick, and the speech is poor, but understandable. She also looks disappointedly at the uneaten food, and hands you a prewritten note sitting next to it in Kanakadorikan. It reads: 'something nice to get you to eat something. Homemade cookies.' The girl quickly surmises these are probably not baked by Karla, but freshly baked by a bakery. Not allowing the disappointment to get the better of her, she said
"What will you eat?"
The girl’s face would become completely red as she received a pat on the head, hiding further into her blanket as she mumbled incoherently to herself. The girl would be surprised at how excited the nurse had become, reluctantly taking the book and reading the cover before opening it up to the first page, flipping it to the next one within twenty seconds. At first one might just assume she was playing with the book but careful attention to her eyes showed that she was reading from it at a quick pace. The girl’s fervent reading would be interrupted by the note, looking at it she looked at the cookies then back at the note before looking at Karla, taking a second to reply verbally she responded with one word, very much so excited as she exclaimed.
“Fettuccine!”
Immediately the girl went to write down what she had just said, elaborating further. ‘Do you have chicken and fettuccine with the Alfredo?’ An idea seemed to pop into her head as she went back to scribbling ‘Coffee?’
Laughing at the girl's embarrassment, and glad that she was starting to warm up to her surroundings, Karla looked over the paper detailing her food order. Not understanding a word of it, she pocketed it hoping someone else would be able to read it. Noting how fast the girl was reading, she took a note down of it, suspicious that the girl may indeed be reading at such a high level, and not just skimming.
'It wouldn't be the first strange thing about this case' She thought as she wrote it down.
Realizing that she was now tied to the girl until further notice, and that she needed to go home and pack an overnight bag, Karla did her best to break the news to the child.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I will be back soon. Please try to be nice to my coworkers. I will come back and stay. Read books."
She gives the girl a smile, and decides to press her luck. giving her a big hug, while still being mindful of her injuries. With that she gets up, and walks out of the room. The news brought tears to the young girl’s eyes, unsure if the nurse was lying on her return or if she could even keep such a promise, yet she did not say anything, hugging onto Karla tightly until she very reluctantly let go and watched her leave.
Email sent to the Office of Internal Affairs, dated November 2nd, 2013
Concerning: Project Nightcrawler
For OIA liaison:
Cc Agent Fischer, OIA
It has come to the attention of the Foreign Relations Group that a child is in your custody of unknown origin. It has also come to the attention of this organization that this child was attacked by an unknown assailant. Per instruction from the office of the Archduke of internal affairs, FRG will provide resources, and minimal manpower to aid in the apprehension of this individual. A liaison from the organization will make it known to the head of the investigation. Please cc him/her to this email.
Sorry to bother you about case 782B again, but have you ever actually read these files? So far they seem highly mundane. What am I supposed to make of, besides factors I can’t discuss here, a bog standard attempted murder case? Did the chief give you any indication on what I’m specifically looking at these files for, or am I supposed to be compiling this for some sort of UNCLASS briefing? Elias was no help, he pointed me to the director’s office for any serious inquiries, which we both know is a fool's errand in this climate. Maybe we can discuss it in more detail, at Gertrude’s pub downtown.
-William Dernback
An email response dated within the hour reads
Dernback,
Formal request from the department of the director, you are not to discuss file #F8-782B with anyone outside of the investigation. Seeing as that's just you at the moment, I’d take that as your compiling a briefing. Sorry I can’t be of more help, I’m swamped with my own work at the moment and couldn't request to be put on your team if I wanted to. I will take you up on those drinks though, I’ll meet you there around 7. Sarah would kill me if I went straight from work to the pub.
See you there
-Ditter
…
November 2nd, 2013
0800
King H. Wolf Memorial hospital
Agent Fischer hadn’t spent much time on his first special assignment, and he already found himself loathing it. The report from the overnight nurse was about as bad as it could be for the situation. No details on the gunman, and the two key witnesses being children he, for the moment, had no access to. He sat in the hospital’s office wing thumbing through the report from the nurse, and got more displeased as he read it. Eventually, he got fed up and tossed the file across the room.
“How the hell am I supposed to find a gunman from a child who can't speak the language and a prince that's not allowed visitors!” he shouted angrily.
He leaned back in the desk chair, and cursed himself for taking the assignment so readily when everyone else passed it up. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. Looking over the notes the night nurse had left him, he mumbled
“Aw, fuck it. Dictionaries it is.”
Picking up the phone sitting on the desk he starts to dial a number, taking a sip of coffee while the dial tone plays. He took the time out to curse that it had gotten lukewarm on him, just in time for the other end to pick up.
“Tsk. Coffee here - yeah. This is Fischer. Yeah, can you transfer me to acquisitions? Yeah I’ll hold.”
Giving another heavy sigh, he waited to be transferred. He took the interlude to down the rest of his cup of coffee, grimacing at the poor taste. After a few agonizing minutes of waiting, he finally got someone on the other end.
“It’s Fischer. Yeah, with the Marigold Street case. I need to put in a priority request for a few items. Yeah, check with the old man if you need authentication. What items? Uh, yeah”
He flips through the nurse’s notes, until he gets to requested materials
“Kanakadorikan and Ninhundish to Galavrian dictionaries. A translator if you have one. I know you aren't personnel just make it easier on me goddamnit. I’m also gonna need some extra food resources for the victim, along with some physical therapy equipment and various children's toys. Look I’m passing on a request from the hospital staff, who am I to question this? Yeah I can fax the list over. Alright, goodbye.”
He tossed the phone back on the desk, not bothering to hang it back up.
“Goddammit, it's gonna be a long day”
Was all he had to say about his situation.
…
November 2nd, 2013
0900
King H. Wolf Memorial hospital
The day nurse walks cautiously into the room housing the mystery girl. The Nurse was a man, on the younger side compared to Karla, with a mop of brown hair haphazardly fixed to look presentable atop his head. In his hands, he carried a tray of what could loosely be described as breakfast. On a plate sits runny eggs, some slightly burnt toast, and a glass of milk. Placing the tray gently on the nightstand, as to not to wake the girl, he looks at the information sheet above the bed.
“No name? Karla, you must be losing your charm”
He chuckles as he mumbles to himself. It’s at this moment, he notices the girl is staring him down with bags under eyes.
“Well good morning little one”
His eyes scan the portion of the info sheet detailing her lack of understanding of the language
“Ah. Well. That explains it”
As the nurse surreptitious entered the room the dark brown eyes of the young girl traced his movement as her eyes squinted heavily to identify if he is friend or foe, seemingly unable to identify if she had seen him before it took him stopping his motion for her to come to her conclusion. It came just as he seemed to notice her, her eyes being filled with a dangerous cocktail of fear and exhaustion. Her breathing seemed to be near existent as she attempted to keep her profile down as much as possible, hoping in her delirium that he would forget about her. This look remained as she sat in her own silence as the Nurse briefly addressed her and talked to himself, her eyes never breaking from her gaze upon him despite the extreme amount of dedication it took the child to maintain it in her current state of exhaustion. He said nothing for a moment, kept reading the information document from above the bed.
"Potentially fluent in Kanakadorikan and Ninhundish? What? That can't be right'' He keeps reading, laughs, and chucks the report over his shoulder.
"What a load of bull Karla. Nothing better to do with your night?"" He muses to himself.
Finally focusing on the girl, he notices her fear, and more importantly to him, the baggy eyes.
"Hey. you didn't sleep. Your lucky your too young for it otherwise I'd just stick you with the juice to make sure you slept.''
Slowly, it began to dawn on him that the girl really couldn't understand a lick of Galavarian, he put his skepticism aside.
"Food" He says in extremely broken Ninhundish.
He motions for the girl to sit up and take the plate. Without waiting to see if she actually eats, he grabs a piece of paper that bore Karla's handwriting that was hiding behind the original report. On it is a message for the new nurse, which he scoffs at, and several basic phrases in Kanakadorikan, Ninhundish, and Galavarian. Clearly she got busy after the girl fell asleep attempting to create some basic way to communicate.
The girl seemed to hide even more into her blanket as he motioned for the girl to sit up. Her Herzanan eyes remained unflinching as to not break contact with the new nurse, still unsure on if he is friend or foe, or so it seems. Her tone says it all, the girl would reply to the nurse’s instructions. All that came out from her was one word, layered in fear but also a hint of defiance. "Nein." Her voice cracked as she meekly said, bordering on the edge of being a whisper. Her accent was fully Ninhundish, the specific one coming from the capital city of Frankdorf.
Not needing a dictionary to translate her refusal, he shrugged "Ok, have it your way then." He says in his own tongue.
Knowing the girl can't understand it He leaves the room. leaving the girl alone for several minutes, before returning with an IV, and some tools to apply it. He reads the translation paper and says, once again in broken Ninhundish
"Eat"
He points to the plate of still warm food. For effect, he waggled the needle portion of the IV. He wears a half smile on his face, clearly amused at the girl's defiance. Pondering for another moment, he goes to read another phrase from the note that had 'helpful for you' scrawled over it with no translation
"I. am. Here. To. Help. Don't. mind. my manners. I. am. idiot." He says, unsure of what it was he was actually saying
"Huh. Wonder what that means" he wonders aloud in Galavarian
In the elapsed time of the nurse being gone the girl would be relieved off her fears, glad that her one word of defiance was seemingly enough to get her to leave. Her first train of thought was now to escape but her body and mind betrayed her, weak from the lack of sleep she had none of the energy that would be needed to make her immediate exit. As the girl attempted and failed to think of a plan of action her eyes ever so slowly began to edge closer and closer to shutting, eventually it happened. The girl was laying on her side in a fragile sleep. She got a few or maybe even five plus in before she was pulled back to reality, hearing footsteps. What she saw was a menacing sight, the nurse standing at the entrance and only exit with a IV bag and the associated tools, saying the exact one word he did as a demand as he approached. The girl immediately shrieked before throwing back the blanket over herself as it had slipped off as she turned in sleep. The irrational little thing’s voice was filled with fear so palpable it could be used as a weapon as he waggled the needle.
“I don’t wanna eat! I am not hungry!”
The yell was muffled slightly by the fact she threw herself fully under the blanket, terrified as she hid under its thin cloth, the silhouette of the nurse haunting her. Confusion was only painted onto her fear as she heard him speak in broken Ninhundish towards her again, her response would seem panicked as she spoke quickly, the same tone of absolutely fear remaining
“You are scary!”
"Well, that wasn't much more than I expected. Alright. You get one more Mr. nice guy routine before I say fuck it and bust out the needle." he says flatly.
Sitting next to her covered form on the bed, he grabs the cover with one hand, and a piece of toast in the other.
"Alright kiddo, it's time for you to eat" He firmly pulls the covers down enough for her head to be revealed.
Holding the toast in front of her face, he says.
"Eat, please"
Once more in broken ninhundish. He makes sure to hold the covers so she cannot pull them back up herself. He also sits in a way that means, even if she could get up, he could easily make sure she stayed in bed.
The girl would begin to start shaking uncontrollably as she saw the silhouette come closer and as she felt the bed lean a bit to the side as extra weight was laid on the frame as the nurse sat next to her. She attempted to keep in her fears, hoping that the terrifying nurse would just go away. She would scream as if she was getting murdered as the nurse held up the covers, her eyes swelling with tears as she would begin bawling her eyes out. His smile makes her cry even harder as she can barely see him anymore due to the tears clogging her eyes and her still laying down, gravity not allowed to do its work.
"Whelp, I tried." he says, his bemusement only deepening.
He then grabs the girl's arm, and starts to apply the ointment to numb the area, in preparation for the IV. His grip is firm, but not painful. It is however painfully clear to the girl her arm won't be moving until he's done. Before inserting the IV, he looked the girl over, and sighed.
"You are Karla's problem as soon as I'm done here. Kids aren't something that's in my job description."
He loses his joyful demeanor, and quietly moves to finish the IV. surprisingly, it doesn't hurt. He then gets up, and leaves the room again for another five minutes. When he comes back, he has a cup of water, a funnel, and a bottle of pills with him. Taking a look at your face again, he shakes his head a bit, before forcing a smile.
"Alright. last thing before I make you someone else's problem." He reads the note again and says
"take, sleep"" shaking the bottle of pills. He procures one from the bottle, and attempts to hand it to the girl.
Reality hits in as the girl realizes that she is completely at the mercy of the hospital’s staff. Her panic only grew as her arm was grabbed, somehow screaming louder. A single repeated word came from her as she cried
“Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!”
She repeated nonstop throughout the entire process, her pleas only growing louder as she saw the needle, her shaking intensifying.
“PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!”
Her pleading would stop as the IV tube was inserted, but her crying would not as it stayed constant. As soon as the nurse would turn around and exit she would begin to pull at the tube in a panic, doing so until it was out. She cried the entire time he was gone and continued doing so as he entered with his new items. As he approached she would push herself up against the bed frame, very much so terrified as she subconsciously rubbed the spot where the tube once was, (probably) smearing some blood onto her forearm.
Noticing the red spot, and the IV tube hanging uselessly away from the bed. the man exclaims
"Oh for fucks sake!"
He drops the pills, and runs to grab some gauze from an emergency medical chest attached to the wall. Examining her arm intensely he checks to make sure the entire apparatus was removed. satisfied it was just a wound with nothing left in it, he began to apply the gauze. His amused face is gone now, now replaced with a mix of concern and apprehension.
I'm gonna catch hell for this, he thought to himself.
Finishing up the bandage he looks at the pills for a moment, before finally saying
"Alright, I've done all I can here. I'll take the ass chewing over whatever this is"
With that, he draws the curtains so the room is dark again, and leaves, shutting the lights off as he goes. The girl hears the faint sound of the door locking behind him. Several hours would pass, not that the girl could tell how many, but the sun would hang lazily in the sky before the door would open again, this time a familiar face peaking in, to see if the girl was awake.
Her crying would continue throughout the entire affair, having caused quite the commotion herself; she was paralyzed with fear as the nurse attempted to treat her. Her fear was only intensified by being left alone in the darkness, all by herself, even more so when she heard the door lock. In just half a minute she would begin hyperventilating as all she could see around her was black. For the next two hours she cried her eyes out, hoping that someone would come back. Her wish was left unfulfilled. After what felt like a personal trip to hell she finally used the last of her crying, drifting out to sleep as she sobbed into her pillow. Karla would find the girl passed out on the bed, lying face down, with her head and wounded arm hanging off the side of the bed as the pillow was on the floor and the blanket only went from her ankles to her stomach. The hand she used to rub her wound was still bloodied and laid where the pillow would have normally been for head support, smearing it onto the sheets. The child’s hair was even more messy than before, somehow. . .
Seeing the girl's pitiful, but unconscious state, Karla's heart would shatter. As quietly as she could, she crept up to the sleeping girl and pulled the covers so they were covering her properly. She then left the room for around 20 minutes, and came back with a pair of books under one arm, and a bag containing some medical supplies in the other. Before sitting down in the chair, she took the time to read over the notes left by the last nurse. She dismissed them in a similar fashion to her counterpart, and began reading while the girl slept. The books' title read "Ninhundish to Galavaira, a nutshell." and "Kanakadorikan to Galavaria, a primer" The medical supplies in the bag consist of extra gauze, a rag, and what looks to be various liquids.
the girl would sleep peacefully for the extra hour. Suddenly the girl would begin tossing and turning in the bed, murmuring to herself in an unknown and Herzanan sounding language, the murmur would then increase in pitch and volume, one word that seemed to pop up back over again was , Karla, Karla. Slowly, over the course of two minutes it would become screaming and a sleepy sob. Only seconds after the screaming started she woke up, being jolted awake as screamed in a panic, yelling in genuine fear with tears in her eyes. She hugged onto herself as the yelling turned to a gentle and pitiful sob
Seeing the girl's distress, Karla would hold off on waking her from it, letting it instead run its course. She took a note of the speech in Herzanan, though omitted the exact speech of the girl. If she could understand what was being said through the sobbing, she didn't write it down. While she tossed and turned she quickly left the room, returning before the girl was done with her fit with a glass of water and a plate of cookies, seemingly home made. While the girl held herself, Karla reached out to her whispering
"Hush child, it's ok. It was only a dream."
cursing herself slightly, remembering the girl can't understand her. She instead elected to brush the hair out of her face while letting her cry it out. In much better Kanakadorikan than his counterpart managed Ninhundish she said
"Calm, I am here to help." She sat on the edge of the bed, and attempted to grasp one of the girl's hands
Without a single moment to think the girl would immediately hug onto Karla, clinging on as tight as she could, not fully registering what was happening in full. The girl would attempt to bury her head into the Nurse herself, crying and sniffling, not shaking though as she heard Karla’s soothing voice in a language she could actually understand
Being taken aback by the girl suddenly trusting her, Karla decided to press her advantage. First, she let the girl cry into her shirt for a few moments, while she grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket. Before reading from it, she gives the girl's head a reassuring pat, and reads aloud in Kanakadorikan
"You injured yourself. Can I fix it?"
Not waiting for an answer, the girl puts the piece of paper back, and wets a rag with a spray bottle, and attempts to clean off her bloody hands.
"You did not eat either" she says again in broken Kanakadorikan
The girl’s sobs would stop as Karla talked to her, surprised that now communication is now truly possible. She looked off in embarrassment and attempted to keep her hands to herself.
“I am okay. I do not need fixing. . .” The girl fluently replied, not resisting besides attempting to keep her arms towards herself.
“I am not hungry. . .” The girl said as she trailed off, lying to both herself and the nurse in order to feign strength.
Cocking her head to one side, Karla would nervously laugh
"sorry, no understand" in kanakadorikan.
She quickly finishes wiping the blood from the child's hands, and then grabs a blank piece of paper and pencil from her bag.
"Write." she says in Kanakadorikan.
While she waits, she reads the cheat sheet again, and attempts more complex sentences. This one is much more broken then the last few phrases
"You are hurt. Badly. you need rest. and help. Let me help." Karla says motioning to the girl's arm.
deciding that her butchery of the language wasn't bad enough that the girl couldn't understand her, she continued
"You need to eat. You have not eaten in too long. I brought something no child can say no two."
She processes the plate of cookies, and tries to hand her one after she finishes writing. She carries a big smile, but behind it is hidden grave concern.
The child’s glee and excitement would evaporate within seconds as her mouth was ajar for several seconds, her embarrassment would only grow as she would talk fast and frantically, whining
“Why did you have to tease me like that? That isn’t very nice! For once I thought someone here could understand me. It is so frustrating! This place is so confusing!”
She stares at the paper with deeply disappointed eyes before putting lead to paper, writing in very neat Kanadorikan with her left hand and the pencil held the opposite way, like a concealed knife. ‘I want to leave.’ She writes simply before Karla continues to talk. A look of genuine confusion implanted itself on her face as she then continued writing ‘Why do you want?’ She looks at Karla with slight amusement as she butchers the language before saying
“What time is it?”
It only took a few seconds for her to remember that Karla couldn’t speak a sentence, so with a frown she started writing again. ‘What time is it?’
Happy that you were at least talking more, and taking the time out to write, Karla said gleefully
"Yes! progress! Now if I can just get you to keep down some food I'd call today a success."
reading the paper, her smile would turn into a frown. She'd read her cheat sheet again, and struggle to find the right words
"You are hurt. I need to help you. There's a bad man out there we need you help to find" she says in kanakadorikan.
Concern is etched onto her face. It morphs into confusion when she reads the second half of the girl's writing.
"Time?" she says in Galavarian
"It's around 5pm sweetheart"
switching to her broken kanakadorikan, she says
"Why? Why don't you eat? It's been 3 days since you are hurt"
The girl would begin writing again. ‘Why would you want to find him? He has gestalt, you can not find him.’ She calmly wrote down before looking up to see the frown. Seeing this sadness the girl would look sad herself before continuing to write ‘Why do you call me that?’ A look of confusion was on her face as she muttered something to herself ‘It has been one night. I need to leave. I am not hungry.’ Just as she would finish writing the girl’s stomach would loudly roar.
Her frown would only deepen at the latest batch of writing. She struggled to understand the words on the page.
"I don't understand. We find" she finally says
After another few minutes translating your writing she says again
"Call you?"
When she hears the girl's stomach clearly announcing that she's hungry, she'd get a slight smile back and lightly chuckle
"I think it disagree"
After she says this, the government agent from the other day appears in the doorway, saying to Karla
"Alright, you win. Mystery girl over there can't speak a lick of the home tongue, and is classified as a foreigner. Which now means those assholes in group get to get involved. Happy now?"
He says, clearly annoyed at the whole situation. Pushing a cartful of books into the room, he adds
"Here. some of the supplies you requested. I expect she'll be able to speak soon"
Looking at the girl, he says in near perfect Ninhundish "The bad man won't be able to stay hidden from us for too long. Don't worry."
He flashes a genuinely reassuring smile, before returning to Karla with his business like stoicism
"And because this makes it easier on me, you're officially her caretaker until you can turn her over for an interview or we track down some next of kin."
Upon the seeming promise that Karla made the girl would fervently shake her head side to side, obviously believing that such a thing is not possible, especially whoever she works with. She would continue writing at Karla’s seeming confusion ‘Sweetheart?’ She seemed stumped as she wrote down the word, questioning why it was used on her. She was just about to write further before she noticed the man in the hallway. Immediately the girl would push herself up against the bedframe to get some distance and then cover herself up to her neck with the blanket, clearly on edge, her eyes looking like daggers as they spoke in the language that she could not understand, although the gaze would soften as she saw the books be pushed into the room, curious now more than anything, looking up with surprise as she heard him speak Ninhundish with the majority of fluency, not waiting a second she moved a bit forward as she talked excitedly in Ninhundish
“He is very good. You will not find him.” The genuine smile caught her off guard as she buried her face in her blanket as blush filled her face.
Without answering her, agent Fischer chuckles to himself, and walks out the door.
Letting a genuine smile fall back on her face, Karla laughed as she read the question. Not knowing how to respond to it in a language she could understand, she simply patted her head, and smiled, hoping that would get the point across. Looking at the books, she scratched her chin before picking one up. It was a book for children meant to translate Kankadorika to Galavarian. Excitedly, Karla hands the book over saying in Kanadorika
"read, understand!"
Her words are quick, and the speech is poor, but understandable. She also looks disappointedly at the uneaten food, and hands you a prewritten note sitting next to it in Kanakadorikan. It reads: 'something nice to get you to eat something. Homemade cookies.' The girl quickly surmises these are probably not baked by Karla, but freshly baked by a bakery. Not allowing the disappointment to get the better of her, she said
"What will you eat?"
The girl’s face would become completely red as she received a pat on the head, hiding further into her blanket as she mumbled incoherently to herself. The girl would be surprised at how excited the nurse had become, reluctantly taking the book and reading the cover before opening it up to the first page, flipping it to the next one within twenty seconds. At first one might just assume she was playing with the book but careful attention to her eyes showed that she was reading from it at a quick pace. The girl’s fervent reading would be interrupted by the note, looking at it she looked at the cookies then back at the note before looking at Karla, taking a second to reply verbally she responded with one word, very much so excited as she exclaimed.
“Fettuccine!”
Immediately the girl went to write down what she had just said, elaborating further. ‘Do you have chicken and fettuccine with the Alfredo?’ An idea seemed to pop into her head as she went back to scribbling ‘Coffee?’
Laughing at the girl's embarrassment, and glad that she was starting to warm up to her surroundings, Karla looked over the paper detailing her food order. Not understanding a word of it, she pocketed it hoping someone else would be able to read it. Noting how fast the girl was reading, she took a note down of it, suspicious that the girl may indeed be reading at such a high level, and not just skimming.
'It wouldn't be the first strange thing about this case' She thought as she wrote it down.
Realizing that she was now tied to the girl until further notice, and that she needed to go home and pack an overnight bag, Karla did her best to break the news to the child.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I will be back soon. Please try to be nice to my coworkers. I will come back and stay. Read books."
She gives the girl a smile, and decides to press her luck. giving her a big hug, while still being mindful of her injuries. With that she gets up, and walks out of the room. The news brought tears to the young girl’s eyes, unsure if the nurse was lying on her return or if she could even keep such a promise, yet she did not say anything, hugging onto Karla tightly until she very reluctantly let go and watched her leave.
Email sent to the Office of Internal Affairs, dated November 2nd, 2013
Concerning: Project Nightcrawler
For OIA liaison:
Cc Agent Fischer, OIA
It has come to the attention of the Foreign Relations Group that a child is in your custody of unknown origin. It has also come to the attention of this organization that this child was attacked by an unknown assailant. Per instruction from the office of the Archduke of internal affairs, FRG will provide resources, and minimal manpower to aid in the apprehension of this individual. A liaison from the organization will make it known to the head of the investigation. Please cc him/her to this email.
Vault- Posts : 27
Join date : 2021-04-21
Re: OIA file #F8-782B [UNSOLVED]
18:00, December 19, 2014
Stockhausen Loop, Suburban Varbrook, Galvaria
Lighting crashes three miles away as rain poured down like artillery shells onto the black paved streets of the outskirts of Varbrook. A lone Girl Scout stood shivering in the rain as the street lights gave the only illumination as it seemed the world was crashing in on itself, the sun being hidden away behind layers and layers of dark clouds that seemed to seek to flood the world as if it was the biblical flood. Her blond hair was drenched and sat on her head like a drowned mop.
She wiped some of the hair away from her eyes so she can properly orientate herself and figure out her surroundings. Her blue eyes darted from house to house, attempting to make out the numbers on each house, as she looked at the first two houses she heard the cry of thunder bear down, but the girl did not seem to be disturbed, fixating on finding the right house. She raised up her right foot and moved forward with locomotion, deciding she would have to move forward closer to see the numbers. With each step her feet pushed into the cushion of her damp shoes, expelling water from it as the rain constantly filled and overfilled it over and over again.
Each step made her life miserable but she finally made it from the danger of the asphalt onto the safety of the sidewalk, walking to the edge of the cracked concrete near the grass, sweeping the street for the correct house, her binder tucked underneath her armpit for what little coverage she could get in this non permissive environment. It took a torturous two minutes until she found the residence she was looking for. With a sigh of relief and excitement she quickly ran through the yard and up the steps to the nearly enclosed front, but even here the wind brought the rain down on her small frame, sending shivers down her spine. She breathed in and out slowly in order to hype herself up and to release some body heat as she rubbed her hands nervously together.
After a couple more seconds of hesitation she would nod towards herself. At last her tiny index finger of her right hand would press against the button, sending the chime of the doorbell into the house. The sounds of distant voices speaking in Khoslol brushed against her ears as she heard one pair of feet make their way towards the door. At last the door opened inwards to reveal a man in his late forties’ of Khoslol descent in business casual attire, his eye level meeting way above her actual height, after half a second of confusion he would look down and see the pale little Girl Scout drenched from head to toe. She herself wasn’t fully Eporan, that was apparent enough, looking at least partially from the Far East in the terms of ethnic makeup, before he was able to say anything the girl spoke up, her teeth clattering as they did so, her tone of voice nervous as her words stumbled and tripped over each other.
“Ex- excuse me, sir. . .” Her eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment, her black framed glasses being almost entirely taken up with droplets of water. “I’m sor- sorry to bother you, but would you like to order some cookies. . . ?” She meekly asked as her feet made a circle like rotation on the wooden flooring in nerveusement. “It’s a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter-.” Her fluent Galvarian was cut off in the near perfect Galvarian that the man spoke, indicating he wasn’t raised Galvarian. “Dear lord, child, let’s get you inside. Where is the rest of your troop?” He asked with great concern in his voice as he held the door even more open for the girl, as he looked back and yelled something deeper into the home in Khoslol “Mankan, grab some towers real quick!” The girl looks up at the man in confusion and a hint of fear, her hands clasping in on each other in a self comforting action “Mother says I’m not supposed to go into a stranger’s home.”
The man shook his head in disapproval of this girl’s poor decision making, not seeing an accompanying adult nor another Girl Scout as to ensure she was safe in her journeys on the weekend “It’s not safe out there with lighting, plus I’m sure your mother wouldn’t want you getting sick, right?” He asked, trying to convince the girl to use her brain and not go against her own self interest. After a moment of silence from the girl she mumbles “I don’t want to be a bother, mister. . .”
His heart melted at the child’s care and sincereness. “Please, you can call your mother when you are inside and warm so you don’t have to go back in that storm.” The girl finally relented and took a step inside the house, he felt closing the door behind her as she began to take off her rain filled shoes. Just then a second Khoslol man emerged with two towels, recoiling as he saw the state the girl was in. “Dear lord, I guess kids these days are growing more adventurous day by day.” He said in his native language towards his comrade before letting out a light laugh as he took the initiative to wrap the girl in two layers of dry towels.
This act of kindness would make her blush, only able to stammer out a “Than- thank you, mister.” The second man let out a kind smile before the first man spoke up, gesturing the girl further into the house “Come on, let’s get some tea in you to get you warm. Don’t want you to catch a cold.” With a gentle hand guiding her she followed to where she was pointed, finding another Khoslol man who sat in one of three recliner chairs around a coffee table with several cups and a teapot in the middle. He said nothing and did not react to the girl’s presence as he sipped his tea. The first man poured the girl a cup of tea and handed it to her as she placed a towel on the floor so as to not make a totally damp spot as she sat down on it, having no choice but to accept the warm cup, taking up most of her hands.
As the two men took back their position in their seats the first asked the girl “So what’s this about a fundraiser? I must say I am in the mood for cookies.” The girl perked up at the interest, seeming to find a new found confidence. “Ah, yes! Next week we will be delivering any cookies ordered this week and all profits will be going to the homeless shelter!” She said with a spark in her eye as the first man couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s excitement. “Quite a noble goal, but what is it for you, young lady?” The girl’s excitement seemed to evaporate as her eyes looked to be filled with shame. “Troop Mother says if we can raise a hundred each then we can have a pizza party. . .”
A frown was placed on the man’s face as he saw the girl felt shame in her reasoning, attempting to cheer her up he asked “Well, how much do you all need in total?” A light smile placed itself on his face as he hoped such an action might bring comfort to the girl. Her eyes lit up and excitement took as she flipped open her binder to the first paper that was held in a water proof casing, after scanning the paper she remarked. “I am the only one who hasn’t reached the goal yet since I was such earlier this week. I only need fifty more!” She exclaimed as she placed the unmolested tea cup back on the coffee table. It did not even take a second for the man to make his decision “Well isn’t that delightful, I help out with that and get a hundred’s worth.”
He said as he stood up “Wow! You would really do that for me, sir?” Her voice was filled with gratefulness and excitement at the end goal. “Of course. Let me just get my checkbook real quick.” He said as he turned to another room and began walking. The girl stood up in excitement with her hand in the middle of her binder. “You don’t know how much this has made my day!” Just as the last word escaped her mouth the binder fell to the ground and the deafening sound of a gunshot echoed and battered the room’s inhabitants.
Before the kind man’s body could even hit the ground the girl directed her revolver to the third man, shooting him in between the eyes as his tea cup fell to the ground. The second man immediately stood up and began to run. After a couple seconds the girl readjusted herself and aimed for the second man’s center mass, sending three shots into the man’s spinal cord and lungs. He flopped to the ground, groaning in pain. In an elegant movement she made her way to the crawling and wounded man, stopping right before his feet as she carefully aimed for the back of his head. She slowly squeezed the trigger until she fired her sixth shoot, splattering the man’s brains all over the hallway and on herself too.
The girl holstered the revolver in her skirts’ waistband as she took the time to clear the blood from her glasses with a handkerchief, deciding it was too much effort to attempt to clean her cheeks or her clothes. With a sigh the girl spun around and walked back to her binder, bending down as she flipped to the binder’s back and removed six more bullets that were stored in a waterproof casing. She methodically removed each spent casing from the chamber and into the now empty water proof casing so as to not leave too much of a trace.
In the same speed and amount of care she loaded her revolver back up and spun around the chamber, hiding it back into her binder. She then made her way back to the entrance, tippy toeing around the body of the second man as she sat down next to his head and put on her shoes, opening the door back to the storm, taking one last look back to her work before carefully and respectfully closing the door and walking back out into the rain, stretching her arms over her head as the rain battered down onto her. Without a seeming care in the world she strolled down the neighborhood at a slightly accelerated pace, hearing two streets down before stopping at a trash can that was lazily left out from the last garbage day.
The girl shrugged to herself at this providence as she cracked it open and slipped in her revolver without even looking, leaving the site as quickly as she came as she continued walking closer to the city center, out of the suburbs and intending to head further into the heart of the city, hoping that the rain was enough of a detergent to wash herself from the blood that had splattered onto her face and her apparel.
November 3rd 2013, Wolf King H. Wolf Memorial Hospital
The night’s event came and went as quickly as time pushed it, being accelerated for the girl as she poured over the reading material that she had been given, truly throwing herself wholeheartedly into her studies of the language, being able to get through the first dictionary and half way through the second before sleep overtook her. Through all the mishaps, through all the miscommunications. The girl slowly fell into slumber, passing out on her bed while surrounded by the scattered books. Her sleep however was not deep, once every hour the door would open and someone would walk in to check up on her. After every sleep to make sure the girl hasn’t left the room she quickly fell back to sleep, never announcing or making known the fact that she was awake for the nearly eight disturbances she experienced. In this routine the girl formulated a plan on the seventh disturbance that she would put into place at the next disturbance.
Just as the eighth came and went the girl slowly slipped out of bed while still wrapped in her blanket, remaining low to the ground the blanket protected her from the cold tiling as she attempted to fully wake herself up, her first course of action was slapping herself. She only got two slaps in before she bruised herself, deeming it best to stop such self destructive actions in search of a new solution. In her environment she found her salvation, an unmolested plastic bottle of water. She poured it on her face and then wiped her face with the blanket she had pulled down from the bed. Now with her opticals fully operational she very carefully walked to the window and flipped open a single part of the curtain, seeing the sun only just now break through the urban horizon. The time was now as she made the assumption that she had ten to fifteen more minutes before the sun revealed all and an hour before the next wellness check. She tiptoed to her door and cracked it only so slightly and took a peek through to see what might be on the other side. In the early morning hours, the hospital would be quiet.
The other side of the door reveals a sterile hospital hallway that would be standard in any installation like this, stretching on one side to a window, and the other to an elevator. Overall the hallway is small, with the whole floor only holding eight hospital rooms on either side of the hallway. Seeing as how the hallway was seemingly empty the girl would proceed to sprint down the hall with her blanket flowing like a cape as she attempted to balance both speed and silence, the latter having to be sacrificed for the most part as she forced herself to a halt as she looked around both sides. Moving near the elevator finally nets the sound of human activity. On either side of the elevator the hallway opens up into rooms. On the left side is a small area with a receptionist desk, which is empty. Next to the desk, and the elevator, lies a door with a sign that says in Galavarian “stairs - 2nd floor”.
On the opposite side is a nurse’s station with a door behind it. There is a female nurse at the stand, conversing with the male nurse from the other day. The girl would come to a complete stop as she hears the presence of more individuals than just her. Her breathing became less pronounced as she slowly turned to the left side and specifically towards the door with the stairs, being very methodical with each step as to not alert the nurses from the right side. She would slowly push her wait down on the floor and once entering she would hold the door as it fell, attempting to make it sound like it never even closed audibly.
After a moment to take a full breath she would begin to sprint down the stairs until she found the next exit to the ground floor. Despite having a small frame, and being silent on her feet, the girl's escape attempt draws the attention of the male Nurse from the other day, in the form of the audible click of the door shutting. Making a quick judgement based on the little he interacted with the child the previous day, he looked to his compatriot and said. "Check the patient's room, if she isn't there, call the office." Without waiting for a reply, he started to run to the door to the stairs. Ever so reluctantly the girl cracked open the door to ground level and peaked through ever so carefully.
Down on the first floor, a lobby area sits in front of the door to the staircase. On one side of the lobby sits a very bored looking receptionist, idly tapping a well manicured nail on the desk with one hand, and holding a computer mouse in the other. Near the door stands a rather imposing man in a suit, who notices the door come open. He eyes it with suspicion, but does not move from his position on the wall. One set of rapidly approaching footsteps can be heard coming from the landing above. Slight panic overtook the girl as she heard footsteps from the stairs above. With her blanket still in hand the girl would on the spot formulate a plan. Firstly she folded her blanket in on itself to make it look like it was concealing something, she then cradled in both of her hands.
She immediately pushed the door open all the way and sprinted down the hall directly towards the front entrance, zig zagging and weaving from left to right to help her chances as she believed she would inevitably be chased after by the man in the suit and whoever was rapidly descending down the stairs. After making it half way the girl exclaimed in Ninhundish and at the top of her lungs. “I have a bomb!” She then barged through the door, in the process dropping the blanket as she sprinted dead ahead, fumbling a bit on her feet as the sweet autumn breeze cut through her hair, blinding her somewhat as she didn’t even look back.
Looking absolutely dumbfounded at a girl running erratically screaming in a language he doesn't understand, the guard makes no move to capture the girl. Bursting through the stairway door behind her, the Nurse from the other day shouts "She's a patient you moron! Grab her!" He is running to close the distance "Wait!" He yells after her in Ninhundish. Before she decided on a turn to pick a direction due to the concrete divider blocking her path straight ahead she would fumble on her feet, nearly falling face first as she looked around confused, but clearly ready to take off to regain her lead and momentum. Running out of the front door close on the heels of the girl, the Nurse easily closes the distance, and goes to pick up the girl in one motion, while skidding to a halt to prevent himself from going headfirst over the concrete divider. "Hey, come now small one, before you hurt yourself again" He says in ninhundish.
As soon as the nurse would be inches away the girl would take off once again she runs to the right out of the divider, just becoming visible to the outside world. Just then she felt a tug on her hospital gown from the nurse, pulling her back just behind the barrier as the unmistakable snap of two different bullets would cut through the air, the first cutting a strand of her messy hair and the second grazing her cheek, leaving a very light cut with blood being visible. As the girl would fall back into the nurse’s scoop she would be panting heavily before she started rapidly breathing in a panic as tears would start to formulate. "Holy shit!"
The Nurse exclaims as he throws himself behind the concrete divider. In doing so, he would land flat on his back holding the girl, knocking the wind out of him. Seeing what was going on, the guard at the door would draw a pistol from his belt, and hesitate at the door frame.
Pulling back inside the safety of the building, he would make no attempt to get outside, seeing little use his pistol could do against an unknown gunman. In the panic, the receptionist would hit a button at her desk, sounding a general alarm in the building. After doing so, she would promptly throw herself to the floor, whimpering quietly to herself. Charlie Hahn had done a lot of things in his life, most of which probably wasn't normal for a nurse at a hospital. Today however had taken the cake, and he was genuinely considering an early retirement while he lay behind a concrete divider, with a sobbing child, under the threat of a sniper.
OIA Special Actions Team (SAT) Ready Room
In the ready room, the men of SAT-2 chatted idly, and enjoyed a relatively quiet morning. There were no missions planned for today, and the threat level for Varbrook was low. Most men, despite regulations saying otherwise, were not in a deployable status, and instead were taking the day off to enjoy some games. While all this went on, a call came through on the emergency phone sitting on a table in the center of the room. One of the operator's nearest to it picked up the phone and nonchalantly said. "SAT-2 here. Yeah. The hospital? You sure it's not a false alarm? No callback from the front desk? Damnit. Alright." He slammed the phone down, just as the alarm in the ready room started to go off, signaling an urgent deployment.
"Alright, looks like we've got a situation at H. Wolf Memorial! Shots fired reported, no response from the front desk. Get your battle rattle on gentleman, We're the only team up today.” Without a word the men of SAT-2 rushed around, collecting kit, and bringing in armaments. During the frenzy, one man asks "We got any intel on what we're facing?" To which the man who answered the phone replies "None. Keep your head on a swivel, the gents upstairs don't seem to think this is bullshit" The men of SAT-2 donned their black armored vests, and black painted army issue helmets. Along with them they carried the latest and greatest loadouts that could compete with a SOD operator's deployment kit. Piling in the back of MRAPs, they began speeding down the road towards the hospital.
Charlie’s heart was racing, and his adrenaline caused his vision to tunnel. Slightly panicking, and realizing that the shooter may come and finish the job, he was paralyzed with fear for what felt like you’re but for only a few minutes. After hearing sirens closing in he mustered all the courage he possibly could. Taking the child into a bear hug, to shield her from a follow up shot, he sprung up from their hiding place and sprinted to the door of the hospital. It was maybe ten feet away, but it may as well have been one hundred for the situation.
Smashing the door open with his shoulder, he didn't stop running for several steps once inside the hospital. Quickly, he set the sobbing child down on a nearby chair and attempted to console her. "Safe now. Safe. We make bad men go away" He said in Ninhundish. As if on cue, Agent Fischer came into the lobby armed with a pistol of his own. Yelling to the guard at the door, he said. "I got help coming! You and I are gonna watch the door, take up a position behind the receptionist counter!"
The girl would attempt to bury her face in her hands as she was sat down on the chair, partially because of the fear and partially because of the scratch she acquired from the grazing bullet, quietly crying. From in between her fingers she would see the Office Agent bust into the lobby with his weapon drawn, she held her breath as she gulped, having no idea on what was occurring.
Looking at the nurse and his charge, he said "Get her to the safe room. Now!" Hesitating for a moment, Hahn scooped the girl up and started running down the hallway. In this confusion and doubt she did not resist being picked up by the nurse, instead hugging onto him tightly as she shook almost violently with fear.
While this was going on, the three cars holding SAT team screamed up to the hospital, with twenty one men disembarking from the MRAPs. They began to set up a defensive ring outside the main entrance, while seven of the operators broke off and entered the building.
Hahn kicked the door to the safe room open, before setting the girl down so he could slam it shut, locking it as he did so. The door looked as though nothing short of an explosive charge could get through it now that it was locked. Turning to the girl, Hahn said, with a slight shake in his voice from the adrenaline. "Ok. We are safe. It will be ok. The bad man cannot get here" he says in Ninhundish. Noticing the scratch on the girl's face, he knelt down to get a better look. "See why running is bad idea? he says with a slight nervous laugh in Ninhundish Seeing that it was just a graze, he attempted to reassure the girl "Scratch. You are stronger than scratch" Once more in broken Ninhundish. Standing up, he looks around the room for some medical supplies, finding some in an emergency bag. Procuring a small antiseptic wipe, he dabbed the girl's cheek, before applying a band aid over the afflicted area. "Not so scary now, am I squirt" he says in Galavarian. The girl’s face grew worried when she saw the lock engage for the safe room. Looking up at the nurse with visible fear in her eyes as she held onto herself for self comfort, rocking herself back and fourth before the man once again to speak Ninhundish. She would tilt her head, mumbling to herself in an unknown language, seeming to dismiss the nurse’s reassurance.
She flinched as the nurse bent down to her level, finally responding in Ninhundish, in a whisper. “I need to leave.” She said, attempting to absolve herself of the blame for the incident as she wiped some tears from her eyes, not responding to him saying it is but a scratch. She would seem to relax as the nurse went up to look for medical supplies, looking away to the side so as to not make eye contact as the man tended to her very very very minor wound. While still not maintaining contact she would speak her first Galvarian, although sounding broken in tone and demeanor. “Thank you. . .” Till the end of the hour the girl would attempt to hug the nurse’s arm as she sought any comfort she could. While this went on, SAT, along with a deluge of other local police and OIA agents, descended upon the hospital. After an hour in the safe room, a man from SAT bangs on the safe room door. "All clear!" A team of 3 SAT operators then began to lead the girl and her nurse back to her room. In it a SAT sniper team had set up by her window. They started to pack up as the posse entered the room. Sitting the girl on her bed, the SAT team didn't leave the room, and neither did Hahn. They all waited for Agent Fischer, now highly flustered and with a rifle slung across his chest, to walk into the room.
The girl would remain silent and embarrassed during the entirety of the escort back to her room. She looked at all the operatives and soldiers with a curious look although she attempted to hide it. Almost immediately after being placed on the bed she would scoot down over to the floor opposite from the window, leaning against the bed for cover with her hands over her head almost as if she was seeming to wait for a braking action or a crash, seeming to due it out of procedure or perhaps she is just trying to ignore the world around her and make it go away.
The crowd milling about the room did not draw much attention to the girl, as they exchanged information with each other. "Nothing from up here, shooter is long gone." says the sniper team, on their way out "We cleared the building, found nothing. Early reports from surrounding structures are also turning up nil. Whoever this guy is, he's good." says the SAT team. Rubbing his temple, agent Fischer sighs deeply, and looks to the SAT team "Two of you stay here and guard the door for the day, I'll sign off on it later. You"
he says pointing to the last man "Go tell that asshole from the group what you just told me. He should be arriving at the scene any moment now." As the room filled out the door, the nurse backed off to the side of the room, allowing the agent to address the girl directly.
Getting on her level, he made a poor attempt at a reassuring smile, and asked in Ninhundish "Child, do you know who the bad man is? Is it the same bad man as last time?" Helicopters circle the hospital, and more and more law enforcement are arriving on scene. The girl raised her head from the shadow and looked at the agent from the Office, attempting to scoot over until she hit the way in order to get some distance from the man, a look of distrust as she eyed him. In the language she was prompted by, the girl would respond. “Of course I know him. I already told you would not find them.” She said in a dismissive tone as she looked directly at the wall, trying to pay no mind to the agent from the office.
Laughing, the agent bent down to her level, and reached into his suit jacket pocket. Producing an ID card, he says in ninhundish “Yes, yes you did tell me. See this here? I work for a very special government office. We catch bad people, and we are very good at it. The bad man may evade us for now, but I promise, he won't be around for very long." On the ID, it had a photo of the agent, along with two lines of text above and below the photo, reading OFFICE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS ELIAS W. FISCHER. The man put the ID back, and noting the girl's concern, continued in Ninhundish "Now, we are gonna do everything we can to get the bad man, but we could really use your help. Do you think you could answer some questions for me? Then I can see about getting you to a better room, seeing as the décor here might not suit you anymore." He says flashing a genuine smile.
Without getting up from his crouched position, he yells over his shoulder, to the guards outside the room "Contact whoever is in charge of SAT-2 and tell them I own their ass for the foreseeable future." “People who work at offices never get anything done. . .” She said sternly as she attempted to take her eyes away from the office man, a tired exhale escaping her mouth before she half heartedly looked at the id badge that he presented to her. She would almost seem to roll her eyes as she returned to looking back at the wall before he even put it away fully. As the man continued his talk in Ninhundish she would pull her knees up to her chest for self comfort and warmth, not even looking at the man.* “I want real clothes. . .” She seemed to lament to both herself and the Office goon, not even responding to his question.
Laughing even harder, he stood up to his full height, and said in Galavarian "What young miss, no faith in government institutions?" Switching back to Ninhundish, he says "We can arrange for clothes to be sent here. Maybe then you'll be more talkative." He starts to head for the door, but stops in the threshold, saying over his shoulder in Ninhundish "Oh, and don't try another stunt like that, please. Now that it can be assumed the bad man is after you, we don't want you wandering off and getting yourself killed. Come to think of it, why did you try to run from the hospital in the first place?" He looks at the girl inquisitively. His Ninhundish is surprisingly better then he initially let on, and he seems to be studying the girl intently. Not with malice, but with a look of bemused curiosity.
She would hug herself tighter as the man entered his full height and towered over her. Her eyes would perk up as he spoke in Galvarian, tilting her head every so lightly as she responded in very very broken Galvarian, brutally mispronouncing each word. “Very few word I understand, give days, working.” Her eyes seemed to be somewhat dismissive, not responding verbally but it was clear the girl was not amused by any part of this situation as she leaned her head against the wall lazily, not moving from her position as the man spoke again. “The male nurse is a scary person and stabbed me. I have places to go. I can’t be here for too long.” She said in Ninhundish and in a tired tone of voice as she timidly looked at the man. Surprised by her knowledge in the language in such a short time, he says in Galavarian "No, thats actually not bad for someone your age." Further deepening his confusion, and intrigue, the man does his best to hide it, and says in Ninhundish "Can't stay? where will you go young one? Our records show you have no family in the city, and a wider search isn't turning anything up for the country either. Where are you from?"
“I could be better. .” The girl says quietly before trailing off into silence, seemingly unsatisfied with her lack of progress in her studies of Galvarian so far. “Anywhere but here.” She looks at the man with distrust as she finds confusion being sewn inbetween her words. “You already know I am not from here. Why would you need to know more?” The girl's last statement seems to have well and truly confused the man, he scratches the back of his head, and says "So we can find your parents? Or, find out why a disappearing man wants to kill a child? As for our own reasons, seeing as you don't seem to think this was kindness for kindness sake. You'd be half right. The boy that brought you in, you probably don't remember, the state you were in, just so happened to be a prince of these lands. So we want to catch the bad man for putting our prince in danger. I, and my boss, was convinced that the bad man was after him, but after this little stunt I'm not so sure" He says in Ninhundish. His accent is off, as if he is recalling a skill he hasn't used in years, but it is still very strong.
The girl’s eyes would display aggression and anger at the mention of finding her parents as she seems to hold her tongue to stop herself from saying something, but at the mention of who rescued her her face would glow like a Christmas tree as excitement and happiness flew through her in a way that the goon would have never witnessed before. “A PRINCE?!?!” She squealed in excitement and disbelief as she seemed to spring up in joy, jumping up and down with her hands interlocked with each other before her eyes looked up at the man directly, meeting his own pupils, before she became well and truly embarrassed, visibly calming herself down by restraining one of her own arms with the opposite hand.
“A- a- a prince?” She repeated, attempting to act timid as to hide her new found emotions, her eyes displaying that her original emotions had not faded at least yet. Once again, the man would be completely put off by the girl's strange behavior. The swing in mood would also not go unnoticed by the nurse, while he couldn't understand a word being said, it was noted in his log. Agent Fischer started to form an answer to the girl's excited question, but stopped short "Yes, he-" Getting an awful idea that had a 50-50 shot of either getting himself promoted or canned in his head, he finished his thought "Yes, he's actually been quite concerned with how you're coming along. I can arrange a meeting with him if you like, but you have to promise to listen to the nice nurses, and help me by answering a few questions later."
Fischer was only half lying. Prince Jorge had sent a few missives to the hospital inquiring about the girl's status, and considering it had only been a few days, he'd call that concerned. The lie was in arranging a meeting, which after today would surely be shot down by the archduke of internal affairs, hell it probably wouldn't make it past his boss's desk. Maybe he could leverage the days events and work something out, just maybe. Before getting to lost in thought, he smiled at the girl, amazed after all she had been through that she could still find the energy to be excited.
"Do you think you could do that for me?" he says, all in ninhundish. The girl would seem to tear up as excitement took her once more, going back to jumping up and down. “Wow! Could you really do that for me???” She would squeal excitedly before exclaiming. “I always wanted to meet a real prince!!!” Her voice cracked as she stopped jumping and looked up sweetly at the agent from the office, genuinely smiling. “Is he nice? Is he handsome? I couldn’t really get a good look at him in the dark! I’m so excited!!!” The rate of which the girl spoke was extremely fast, so much so it was clear she wouldn’t have much breath in her if she continued for even a second longer, yet she seemed to cram as many words as she could in remaining breath as she didn’t even wait for an answer.
“I bet he is cute! I remember his touch and how when he picked me up all the pain seemed to go away as long as he held me and he felt warm and nice and safe and comforted and he sounded so heroic!” Agent Fischer chuckles at the girl's excitement, and thinks to himself 'maybe I can use this to my advantage. If all else fails, I think provincial police hire office flunkies "Yes, well. I need to get a lead on the bad man, so the prince will be able to come visit. I need something to show my boss that its safe for him to come here. Do you know anything about the bad man? Why he's after you? does the bad man have any friends?" He says in Ninhundish. While she answered, he started to formulate how he was going to pitch this crazy idea to the bosses. If he could get the prince out here, he could have him pry some answers out of the girl.
Or the shooter could come back and confirm everyone's suspicions that he's after the prince. No, after today, he was convinced for some inexplicable reason, he was after the girl, and wouldn't dare try a hit with all that security around. The girl’s excitement would slowly evaporate as she realized the agent began talking about the man again, visibly calming down and returning to her bored state, flopping back first back onto the bed. “I already told you that you are not gonna find him. Why wouldn’t it be safe for the Prince? Gestalt makes him brave but not brazen.”
The girl said with confusion in her voice ‘Dammit. Back to square one again.' Fischer thought to himself. 'Pry the answers via prince it is, because this is going nowhere fast'
Suddenly, he had an epiphany, and it showed on his face. The shooter wouldn't try anything with all that heat around, it would be suicide. Looks like I have my pitch.' "You know what, you're right. I'll get the prince here on two conditions then. You have be nicer to my nurses, and focus on getting better. That means eating something, and if you're not behaving Charlie over there or Karla will let me know, and the prince won't be able to come." Hearing his name Hahn perked up, and in a juvenile jester, stuck his tongue out at the girl, before giving her a smile and a wave.Extending his pinky finger, Agent Fischer asked "Promise?"
The girl would look concerned, bordering on tearing up. “Am- am I not nice?” Her voice cracked as she seemed to be overtaken by despair and self doubt, seeming to try to talk further but no words coming out as she seemed to mouth them. ‘'Jesus, today's just not my day today.' Fischer thought to himself "No, nothing like that. Running off just gave us all a scare is all. And you've been quite stubborn in refusing help, and most treatment. So, don't do that." The man sounds unsure of himself, seemingly as if he has long entered territory he has no business being in.
Straightening out his jacket, he clears his throat, and says in galavarian "Well, I've got reports to write up. Charlie. Try to keep a better eye on her this time. And don't go injuring her further like last time." The nurse looked like he was about to protest, but knew better not to. Addressing the girl in Ninhundish, he says "Hopefully I'll be back soon, prince in tow"
Stockhausen Loop, Suburban Varbrook, Galvaria
Lighting crashes three miles away as rain poured down like artillery shells onto the black paved streets of the outskirts of Varbrook. A lone Girl Scout stood shivering in the rain as the street lights gave the only illumination as it seemed the world was crashing in on itself, the sun being hidden away behind layers and layers of dark clouds that seemed to seek to flood the world as if it was the biblical flood. Her blond hair was drenched and sat on her head like a drowned mop.
She wiped some of the hair away from her eyes so she can properly orientate herself and figure out her surroundings. Her blue eyes darted from house to house, attempting to make out the numbers on each house, as she looked at the first two houses she heard the cry of thunder bear down, but the girl did not seem to be disturbed, fixating on finding the right house. She raised up her right foot and moved forward with locomotion, deciding she would have to move forward closer to see the numbers. With each step her feet pushed into the cushion of her damp shoes, expelling water from it as the rain constantly filled and overfilled it over and over again.
Each step made her life miserable but she finally made it from the danger of the asphalt onto the safety of the sidewalk, walking to the edge of the cracked concrete near the grass, sweeping the street for the correct house, her binder tucked underneath her armpit for what little coverage she could get in this non permissive environment. It took a torturous two minutes until she found the residence she was looking for. With a sigh of relief and excitement she quickly ran through the yard and up the steps to the nearly enclosed front, but even here the wind brought the rain down on her small frame, sending shivers down her spine. She breathed in and out slowly in order to hype herself up and to release some body heat as she rubbed her hands nervously together.
After a couple more seconds of hesitation she would nod towards herself. At last her tiny index finger of her right hand would press against the button, sending the chime of the doorbell into the house. The sounds of distant voices speaking in Khoslol brushed against her ears as she heard one pair of feet make their way towards the door. At last the door opened inwards to reveal a man in his late forties’ of Khoslol descent in business casual attire, his eye level meeting way above her actual height, after half a second of confusion he would look down and see the pale little Girl Scout drenched from head to toe. She herself wasn’t fully Eporan, that was apparent enough, looking at least partially from the Far East in the terms of ethnic makeup, before he was able to say anything the girl spoke up, her teeth clattering as they did so, her tone of voice nervous as her words stumbled and tripped over each other.
“Ex- excuse me, sir. . .” Her eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment, her black framed glasses being almost entirely taken up with droplets of water. “I’m sor- sorry to bother you, but would you like to order some cookies. . . ?” She meekly asked as her feet made a circle like rotation on the wooden flooring in nerveusement. “It’s a fundraiser for the local homeless shelter-.” Her fluent Galvarian was cut off in the near perfect Galvarian that the man spoke, indicating he wasn’t raised Galvarian. “Dear lord, child, let’s get you inside. Where is the rest of your troop?” He asked with great concern in his voice as he held the door even more open for the girl, as he looked back and yelled something deeper into the home in Khoslol “Mankan, grab some towers real quick!” The girl looks up at the man in confusion and a hint of fear, her hands clasping in on each other in a self comforting action “Mother says I’m not supposed to go into a stranger’s home.”
The man shook his head in disapproval of this girl’s poor decision making, not seeing an accompanying adult nor another Girl Scout as to ensure she was safe in her journeys on the weekend “It’s not safe out there with lighting, plus I’m sure your mother wouldn’t want you getting sick, right?” He asked, trying to convince the girl to use her brain and not go against her own self interest. After a moment of silence from the girl she mumbles “I don’t want to be a bother, mister. . .”
His heart melted at the child’s care and sincereness. “Please, you can call your mother when you are inside and warm so you don’t have to go back in that storm.” The girl finally relented and took a step inside the house, he felt closing the door behind her as she began to take off her rain filled shoes. Just then a second Khoslol man emerged with two towels, recoiling as he saw the state the girl was in. “Dear lord, I guess kids these days are growing more adventurous day by day.” He said in his native language towards his comrade before letting out a light laugh as he took the initiative to wrap the girl in two layers of dry towels.
This act of kindness would make her blush, only able to stammer out a “Than- thank you, mister.” The second man let out a kind smile before the first man spoke up, gesturing the girl further into the house “Come on, let’s get some tea in you to get you warm. Don’t want you to catch a cold.” With a gentle hand guiding her she followed to where she was pointed, finding another Khoslol man who sat in one of three recliner chairs around a coffee table with several cups and a teapot in the middle. He said nothing and did not react to the girl’s presence as he sipped his tea. The first man poured the girl a cup of tea and handed it to her as she placed a towel on the floor so as to not make a totally damp spot as she sat down on it, having no choice but to accept the warm cup, taking up most of her hands.
As the two men took back their position in their seats the first asked the girl “So what’s this about a fundraiser? I must say I am in the mood for cookies.” The girl perked up at the interest, seeming to find a new found confidence. “Ah, yes! Next week we will be delivering any cookies ordered this week and all profits will be going to the homeless shelter!” She said with a spark in her eye as the first man couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s excitement. “Quite a noble goal, but what is it for you, young lady?” The girl’s excitement seemed to evaporate as her eyes looked to be filled with shame. “Troop Mother says if we can raise a hundred each then we can have a pizza party. . .”
A frown was placed on the man’s face as he saw the girl felt shame in her reasoning, attempting to cheer her up he asked “Well, how much do you all need in total?” A light smile placed itself on his face as he hoped such an action might bring comfort to the girl. Her eyes lit up and excitement took as she flipped open her binder to the first paper that was held in a water proof casing, after scanning the paper she remarked. “I am the only one who hasn’t reached the goal yet since I was such earlier this week. I only need fifty more!” She exclaimed as she placed the unmolested tea cup back on the coffee table. It did not even take a second for the man to make his decision “Well isn’t that delightful, I help out with that and get a hundred’s worth.”
He said as he stood up “Wow! You would really do that for me, sir?” Her voice was filled with gratefulness and excitement at the end goal. “Of course. Let me just get my checkbook real quick.” He said as he turned to another room and began walking. The girl stood up in excitement with her hand in the middle of her binder. “You don’t know how much this has made my day!” Just as the last word escaped her mouth the binder fell to the ground and the deafening sound of a gunshot echoed and battered the room’s inhabitants.
Before the kind man’s body could even hit the ground the girl directed her revolver to the third man, shooting him in between the eyes as his tea cup fell to the ground. The second man immediately stood up and began to run. After a couple seconds the girl readjusted herself and aimed for the second man’s center mass, sending three shots into the man’s spinal cord and lungs. He flopped to the ground, groaning in pain. In an elegant movement she made her way to the crawling and wounded man, stopping right before his feet as she carefully aimed for the back of his head. She slowly squeezed the trigger until she fired her sixth shoot, splattering the man’s brains all over the hallway and on herself too.
The girl holstered the revolver in her skirts’ waistband as she took the time to clear the blood from her glasses with a handkerchief, deciding it was too much effort to attempt to clean her cheeks or her clothes. With a sigh the girl spun around and walked back to her binder, bending down as she flipped to the binder’s back and removed six more bullets that were stored in a waterproof casing. She methodically removed each spent casing from the chamber and into the now empty water proof casing so as to not leave too much of a trace.
In the same speed and amount of care she loaded her revolver back up and spun around the chamber, hiding it back into her binder. She then made her way back to the entrance, tippy toeing around the body of the second man as she sat down next to his head and put on her shoes, opening the door back to the storm, taking one last look back to her work before carefully and respectfully closing the door and walking back out into the rain, stretching her arms over her head as the rain battered down onto her. Without a seeming care in the world she strolled down the neighborhood at a slightly accelerated pace, hearing two streets down before stopping at a trash can that was lazily left out from the last garbage day.
The girl shrugged to herself at this providence as she cracked it open and slipped in her revolver without even looking, leaving the site as quickly as she came as she continued walking closer to the city center, out of the suburbs and intending to head further into the heart of the city, hoping that the rain was enough of a detergent to wash herself from the blood that had splattered onto her face and her apparel.
November 3rd 2013, Wolf King H. Wolf Memorial Hospital
The night’s event came and went as quickly as time pushed it, being accelerated for the girl as she poured over the reading material that she had been given, truly throwing herself wholeheartedly into her studies of the language, being able to get through the first dictionary and half way through the second before sleep overtook her. Through all the mishaps, through all the miscommunications. The girl slowly fell into slumber, passing out on her bed while surrounded by the scattered books. Her sleep however was not deep, once every hour the door would open and someone would walk in to check up on her. After every sleep to make sure the girl hasn’t left the room she quickly fell back to sleep, never announcing or making known the fact that she was awake for the nearly eight disturbances she experienced. In this routine the girl formulated a plan on the seventh disturbance that she would put into place at the next disturbance.
Just as the eighth came and went the girl slowly slipped out of bed while still wrapped in her blanket, remaining low to the ground the blanket protected her from the cold tiling as she attempted to fully wake herself up, her first course of action was slapping herself. She only got two slaps in before she bruised herself, deeming it best to stop such self destructive actions in search of a new solution. In her environment she found her salvation, an unmolested plastic bottle of water. She poured it on her face and then wiped her face with the blanket she had pulled down from the bed. Now with her opticals fully operational she very carefully walked to the window and flipped open a single part of the curtain, seeing the sun only just now break through the urban horizon. The time was now as she made the assumption that she had ten to fifteen more minutes before the sun revealed all and an hour before the next wellness check. She tiptoed to her door and cracked it only so slightly and took a peek through to see what might be on the other side. In the early morning hours, the hospital would be quiet.
The other side of the door reveals a sterile hospital hallway that would be standard in any installation like this, stretching on one side to a window, and the other to an elevator. Overall the hallway is small, with the whole floor only holding eight hospital rooms on either side of the hallway. Seeing as how the hallway was seemingly empty the girl would proceed to sprint down the hall with her blanket flowing like a cape as she attempted to balance both speed and silence, the latter having to be sacrificed for the most part as she forced herself to a halt as she looked around both sides. Moving near the elevator finally nets the sound of human activity. On either side of the elevator the hallway opens up into rooms. On the left side is a small area with a receptionist desk, which is empty. Next to the desk, and the elevator, lies a door with a sign that says in Galavarian “stairs - 2nd floor”.
On the opposite side is a nurse’s station with a door behind it. There is a female nurse at the stand, conversing with the male nurse from the other day. The girl would come to a complete stop as she hears the presence of more individuals than just her. Her breathing became less pronounced as she slowly turned to the left side and specifically towards the door with the stairs, being very methodical with each step as to not alert the nurses from the right side. She would slowly push her wait down on the floor and once entering she would hold the door as it fell, attempting to make it sound like it never even closed audibly.
After a moment to take a full breath she would begin to sprint down the stairs until she found the next exit to the ground floor. Despite having a small frame, and being silent on her feet, the girl's escape attempt draws the attention of the male Nurse from the other day, in the form of the audible click of the door shutting. Making a quick judgement based on the little he interacted with the child the previous day, he looked to his compatriot and said. "Check the patient's room, if she isn't there, call the office." Without waiting for a reply, he started to run to the door to the stairs. Ever so reluctantly the girl cracked open the door to ground level and peaked through ever so carefully.
Down on the first floor, a lobby area sits in front of the door to the staircase. On one side of the lobby sits a very bored looking receptionist, idly tapping a well manicured nail on the desk with one hand, and holding a computer mouse in the other. Near the door stands a rather imposing man in a suit, who notices the door come open. He eyes it with suspicion, but does not move from his position on the wall. One set of rapidly approaching footsteps can be heard coming from the landing above. Slight panic overtook the girl as she heard footsteps from the stairs above. With her blanket still in hand the girl would on the spot formulate a plan. Firstly she folded her blanket in on itself to make it look like it was concealing something, she then cradled in both of her hands.
She immediately pushed the door open all the way and sprinted down the hall directly towards the front entrance, zig zagging and weaving from left to right to help her chances as she believed she would inevitably be chased after by the man in the suit and whoever was rapidly descending down the stairs. After making it half way the girl exclaimed in Ninhundish and at the top of her lungs. “I have a bomb!” She then barged through the door, in the process dropping the blanket as she sprinted dead ahead, fumbling a bit on her feet as the sweet autumn breeze cut through her hair, blinding her somewhat as she didn’t even look back.
Looking absolutely dumbfounded at a girl running erratically screaming in a language he doesn't understand, the guard makes no move to capture the girl. Bursting through the stairway door behind her, the Nurse from the other day shouts "She's a patient you moron! Grab her!" He is running to close the distance "Wait!" He yells after her in Ninhundish. Before she decided on a turn to pick a direction due to the concrete divider blocking her path straight ahead she would fumble on her feet, nearly falling face first as she looked around confused, but clearly ready to take off to regain her lead and momentum. Running out of the front door close on the heels of the girl, the Nurse easily closes the distance, and goes to pick up the girl in one motion, while skidding to a halt to prevent himself from going headfirst over the concrete divider. "Hey, come now small one, before you hurt yourself again" He says in ninhundish.
As soon as the nurse would be inches away the girl would take off once again she runs to the right out of the divider, just becoming visible to the outside world. Just then she felt a tug on her hospital gown from the nurse, pulling her back just behind the barrier as the unmistakable snap of two different bullets would cut through the air, the first cutting a strand of her messy hair and the second grazing her cheek, leaving a very light cut with blood being visible. As the girl would fall back into the nurse’s scoop she would be panting heavily before she started rapidly breathing in a panic as tears would start to formulate. "Holy shit!"
The Nurse exclaims as he throws himself behind the concrete divider. In doing so, he would land flat on his back holding the girl, knocking the wind out of him. Seeing what was going on, the guard at the door would draw a pistol from his belt, and hesitate at the door frame.
Pulling back inside the safety of the building, he would make no attempt to get outside, seeing little use his pistol could do against an unknown gunman. In the panic, the receptionist would hit a button at her desk, sounding a general alarm in the building. After doing so, she would promptly throw herself to the floor, whimpering quietly to herself. Charlie Hahn had done a lot of things in his life, most of which probably wasn't normal for a nurse at a hospital. Today however had taken the cake, and he was genuinely considering an early retirement while he lay behind a concrete divider, with a sobbing child, under the threat of a sniper.
OIA Special Actions Team (SAT) Ready Room
In the ready room, the men of SAT-2 chatted idly, and enjoyed a relatively quiet morning. There were no missions planned for today, and the threat level for Varbrook was low. Most men, despite regulations saying otherwise, were not in a deployable status, and instead were taking the day off to enjoy some games. While all this went on, a call came through on the emergency phone sitting on a table in the center of the room. One of the operator's nearest to it picked up the phone and nonchalantly said. "SAT-2 here. Yeah. The hospital? You sure it's not a false alarm? No callback from the front desk? Damnit. Alright." He slammed the phone down, just as the alarm in the ready room started to go off, signaling an urgent deployment.
"Alright, looks like we've got a situation at H. Wolf Memorial! Shots fired reported, no response from the front desk. Get your battle rattle on gentleman, We're the only team up today.” Without a word the men of SAT-2 rushed around, collecting kit, and bringing in armaments. During the frenzy, one man asks "We got any intel on what we're facing?" To which the man who answered the phone replies "None. Keep your head on a swivel, the gents upstairs don't seem to think this is bullshit" The men of SAT-2 donned their black armored vests, and black painted army issue helmets. Along with them they carried the latest and greatest loadouts that could compete with a SOD operator's deployment kit. Piling in the back of MRAPs, they began speeding down the road towards the hospital.
Charlie’s heart was racing, and his adrenaline caused his vision to tunnel. Slightly panicking, and realizing that the shooter may come and finish the job, he was paralyzed with fear for what felt like you’re but for only a few minutes. After hearing sirens closing in he mustered all the courage he possibly could. Taking the child into a bear hug, to shield her from a follow up shot, he sprung up from their hiding place and sprinted to the door of the hospital. It was maybe ten feet away, but it may as well have been one hundred for the situation.
Smashing the door open with his shoulder, he didn't stop running for several steps once inside the hospital. Quickly, he set the sobbing child down on a nearby chair and attempted to console her. "Safe now. Safe. We make bad men go away" He said in Ninhundish. As if on cue, Agent Fischer came into the lobby armed with a pistol of his own. Yelling to the guard at the door, he said. "I got help coming! You and I are gonna watch the door, take up a position behind the receptionist counter!"
The girl would attempt to bury her face in her hands as she was sat down on the chair, partially because of the fear and partially because of the scratch she acquired from the grazing bullet, quietly crying. From in between her fingers she would see the Office Agent bust into the lobby with his weapon drawn, she held her breath as she gulped, having no idea on what was occurring.
Looking at the nurse and his charge, he said "Get her to the safe room. Now!" Hesitating for a moment, Hahn scooped the girl up and started running down the hallway. In this confusion and doubt she did not resist being picked up by the nurse, instead hugging onto him tightly as she shook almost violently with fear.
While this was going on, the three cars holding SAT team screamed up to the hospital, with twenty one men disembarking from the MRAPs. They began to set up a defensive ring outside the main entrance, while seven of the operators broke off and entered the building.
Hahn kicked the door to the safe room open, before setting the girl down so he could slam it shut, locking it as he did so. The door looked as though nothing short of an explosive charge could get through it now that it was locked. Turning to the girl, Hahn said, with a slight shake in his voice from the adrenaline. "Ok. We are safe. It will be ok. The bad man cannot get here" he says in Ninhundish. Noticing the scratch on the girl's face, he knelt down to get a better look. "See why running is bad idea? he says with a slight nervous laugh in Ninhundish Seeing that it was just a graze, he attempted to reassure the girl "Scratch. You are stronger than scratch" Once more in broken Ninhundish. Standing up, he looks around the room for some medical supplies, finding some in an emergency bag. Procuring a small antiseptic wipe, he dabbed the girl's cheek, before applying a band aid over the afflicted area. "Not so scary now, am I squirt" he says in Galavarian. The girl’s face grew worried when she saw the lock engage for the safe room. Looking up at the nurse with visible fear in her eyes as she held onto herself for self comfort, rocking herself back and fourth before the man once again to speak Ninhundish. She would tilt her head, mumbling to herself in an unknown language, seeming to dismiss the nurse’s reassurance.
She flinched as the nurse bent down to her level, finally responding in Ninhundish, in a whisper. “I need to leave.” She said, attempting to absolve herself of the blame for the incident as she wiped some tears from her eyes, not responding to him saying it is but a scratch. She would seem to relax as the nurse went up to look for medical supplies, looking away to the side so as to not make eye contact as the man tended to her very very very minor wound. While still not maintaining contact she would speak her first Galvarian, although sounding broken in tone and demeanor. “Thank you. . .” Till the end of the hour the girl would attempt to hug the nurse’s arm as she sought any comfort she could. While this went on, SAT, along with a deluge of other local police and OIA agents, descended upon the hospital. After an hour in the safe room, a man from SAT bangs on the safe room door. "All clear!" A team of 3 SAT operators then began to lead the girl and her nurse back to her room. In it a SAT sniper team had set up by her window. They started to pack up as the posse entered the room. Sitting the girl on her bed, the SAT team didn't leave the room, and neither did Hahn. They all waited for Agent Fischer, now highly flustered and with a rifle slung across his chest, to walk into the room.
The girl would remain silent and embarrassed during the entirety of the escort back to her room. She looked at all the operatives and soldiers with a curious look although she attempted to hide it. Almost immediately after being placed on the bed she would scoot down over to the floor opposite from the window, leaning against the bed for cover with her hands over her head almost as if she was seeming to wait for a braking action or a crash, seeming to due it out of procedure or perhaps she is just trying to ignore the world around her and make it go away.
The crowd milling about the room did not draw much attention to the girl, as they exchanged information with each other. "Nothing from up here, shooter is long gone." says the sniper team, on their way out "We cleared the building, found nothing. Early reports from surrounding structures are also turning up nil. Whoever this guy is, he's good." says the SAT team. Rubbing his temple, agent Fischer sighs deeply, and looks to the SAT team "Two of you stay here and guard the door for the day, I'll sign off on it later. You"
he says pointing to the last man "Go tell that asshole from the group what you just told me. He should be arriving at the scene any moment now." As the room filled out the door, the nurse backed off to the side of the room, allowing the agent to address the girl directly.
Getting on her level, he made a poor attempt at a reassuring smile, and asked in Ninhundish "Child, do you know who the bad man is? Is it the same bad man as last time?" Helicopters circle the hospital, and more and more law enforcement are arriving on scene. The girl raised her head from the shadow and looked at the agent from the Office, attempting to scoot over until she hit the way in order to get some distance from the man, a look of distrust as she eyed him. In the language she was prompted by, the girl would respond. “Of course I know him. I already told you would not find them.” She said in a dismissive tone as she looked directly at the wall, trying to pay no mind to the agent from the office.
Laughing, the agent bent down to her level, and reached into his suit jacket pocket. Producing an ID card, he says in ninhundish “Yes, yes you did tell me. See this here? I work for a very special government office. We catch bad people, and we are very good at it. The bad man may evade us for now, but I promise, he won't be around for very long." On the ID, it had a photo of the agent, along with two lines of text above and below the photo, reading OFFICE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS ELIAS W. FISCHER. The man put the ID back, and noting the girl's concern, continued in Ninhundish "Now, we are gonna do everything we can to get the bad man, but we could really use your help. Do you think you could answer some questions for me? Then I can see about getting you to a better room, seeing as the décor here might not suit you anymore." He says flashing a genuine smile.
Without getting up from his crouched position, he yells over his shoulder, to the guards outside the room "Contact whoever is in charge of SAT-2 and tell them I own their ass for the foreseeable future." “People who work at offices never get anything done. . .” She said sternly as she attempted to take her eyes away from the office man, a tired exhale escaping her mouth before she half heartedly looked at the id badge that he presented to her. She would almost seem to roll her eyes as she returned to looking back at the wall before he even put it away fully. As the man continued his talk in Ninhundish she would pull her knees up to her chest for self comfort and warmth, not even looking at the man.* “I want real clothes. . .” She seemed to lament to both herself and the Office goon, not even responding to his question.
Laughing even harder, he stood up to his full height, and said in Galavarian "What young miss, no faith in government institutions?" Switching back to Ninhundish, he says "We can arrange for clothes to be sent here. Maybe then you'll be more talkative." He starts to head for the door, but stops in the threshold, saying over his shoulder in Ninhundish "Oh, and don't try another stunt like that, please. Now that it can be assumed the bad man is after you, we don't want you wandering off and getting yourself killed. Come to think of it, why did you try to run from the hospital in the first place?" He looks at the girl inquisitively. His Ninhundish is surprisingly better then he initially let on, and he seems to be studying the girl intently. Not with malice, but with a look of bemused curiosity.
She would hug herself tighter as the man entered his full height and towered over her. Her eyes would perk up as he spoke in Galvarian, tilting her head every so lightly as she responded in very very broken Galvarian, brutally mispronouncing each word. “Very few word I understand, give days, working.” Her eyes seemed to be somewhat dismissive, not responding verbally but it was clear the girl was not amused by any part of this situation as she leaned her head against the wall lazily, not moving from her position as the man spoke again. “The male nurse is a scary person and stabbed me. I have places to go. I can’t be here for too long.” She said in Ninhundish and in a tired tone of voice as she timidly looked at the man. Surprised by her knowledge in the language in such a short time, he says in Galavarian "No, thats actually not bad for someone your age." Further deepening his confusion, and intrigue, the man does his best to hide it, and says in Ninhundish "Can't stay? where will you go young one? Our records show you have no family in the city, and a wider search isn't turning anything up for the country either. Where are you from?"
“I could be better. .” The girl says quietly before trailing off into silence, seemingly unsatisfied with her lack of progress in her studies of Galvarian so far. “Anywhere but here.” She looks at the man with distrust as she finds confusion being sewn inbetween her words. “You already know I am not from here. Why would you need to know more?” The girl's last statement seems to have well and truly confused the man, he scratches the back of his head, and says "So we can find your parents? Or, find out why a disappearing man wants to kill a child? As for our own reasons, seeing as you don't seem to think this was kindness for kindness sake. You'd be half right. The boy that brought you in, you probably don't remember, the state you were in, just so happened to be a prince of these lands. So we want to catch the bad man for putting our prince in danger. I, and my boss, was convinced that the bad man was after him, but after this little stunt I'm not so sure" He says in Ninhundish. His accent is off, as if he is recalling a skill he hasn't used in years, but it is still very strong.
The girl’s eyes would display aggression and anger at the mention of finding her parents as she seems to hold her tongue to stop herself from saying something, but at the mention of who rescued her her face would glow like a Christmas tree as excitement and happiness flew through her in a way that the goon would have never witnessed before. “A PRINCE?!?!” She squealed in excitement and disbelief as she seemed to spring up in joy, jumping up and down with her hands interlocked with each other before her eyes looked up at the man directly, meeting his own pupils, before she became well and truly embarrassed, visibly calming herself down by restraining one of her own arms with the opposite hand.
“A- a- a prince?” She repeated, attempting to act timid as to hide her new found emotions, her eyes displaying that her original emotions had not faded at least yet. Once again, the man would be completely put off by the girl's strange behavior. The swing in mood would also not go unnoticed by the nurse, while he couldn't understand a word being said, it was noted in his log. Agent Fischer started to form an answer to the girl's excited question, but stopped short "Yes, he-" Getting an awful idea that had a 50-50 shot of either getting himself promoted or canned in his head, he finished his thought "Yes, he's actually been quite concerned with how you're coming along. I can arrange a meeting with him if you like, but you have to promise to listen to the nice nurses, and help me by answering a few questions later."
Fischer was only half lying. Prince Jorge had sent a few missives to the hospital inquiring about the girl's status, and considering it had only been a few days, he'd call that concerned. The lie was in arranging a meeting, which after today would surely be shot down by the archduke of internal affairs, hell it probably wouldn't make it past his boss's desk. Maybe he could leverage the days events and work something out, just maybe. Before getting to lost in thought, he smiled at the girl, amazed after all she had been through that she could still find the energy to be excited.
"Do you think you could do that for me?" he says, all in ninhundish. The girl would seem to tear up as excitement took her once more, going back to jumping up and down. “Wow! Could you really do that for me???” She would squeal excitedly before exclaiming. “I always wanted to meet a real prince!!!” Her voice cracked as she stopped jumping and looked up sweetly at the agent from the office, genuinely smiling. “Is he nice? Is he handsome? I couldn’t really get a good look at him in the dark! I’m so excited!!!” The rate of which the girl spoke was extremely fast, so much so it was clear she wouldn’t have much breath in her if she continued for even a second longer, yet she seemed to cram as many words as she could in remaining breath as she didn’t even wait for an answer.
“I bet he is cute! I remember his touch and how when he picked me up all the pain seemed to go away as long as he held me and he felt warm and nice and safe and comforted and he sounded so heroic!” Agent Fischer chuckles at the girl's excitement, and thinks to himself 'maybe I can use this to my advantage. If all else fails, I think provincial police hire office flunkies "Yes, well. I need to get a lead on the bad man, so the prince will be able to come visit. I need something to show my boss that its safe for him to come here. Do you know anything about the bad man? Why he's after you? does the bad man have any friends?" He says in Ninhundish. While she answered, he started to formulate how he was going to pitch this crazy idea to the bosses. If he could get the prince out here, he could have him pry some answers out of the girl.
Or the shooter could come back and confirm everyone's suspicions that he's after the prince. No, after today, he was convinced for some inexplicable reason, he was after the girl, and wouldn't dare try a hit with all that security around. The girl’s excitement would slowly evaporate as she realized the agent began talking about the man again, visibly calming down and returning to her bored state, flopping back first back onto the bed. “I already told you that you are not gonna find him. Why wouldn’t it be safe for the Prince? Gestalt makes him brave but not brazen.”
The girl said with confusion in her voice ‘Dammit. Back to square one again.' Fischer thought to himself. 'Pry the answers via prince it is, because this is going nowhere fast'
Suddenly, he had an epiphany, and it showed on his face. The shooter wouldn't try anything with all that heat around, it would be suicide. Looks like I have my pitch.' "You know what, you're right. I'll get the prince here on two conditions then. You have be nicer to my nurses, and focus on getting better. That means eating something, and if you're not behaving Charlie over there or Karla will let me know, and the prince won't be able to come." Hearing his name Hahn perked up, and in a juvenile jester, stuck his tongue out at the girl, before giving her a smile and a wave.Extending his pinky finger, Agent Fischer asked "Promise?"
The girl would look concerned, bordering on tearing up. “Am- am I not nice?” Her voice cracked as she seemed to be overtaken by despair and self doubt, seeming to try to talk further but no words coming out as she seemed to mouth them. ‘'Jesus, today's just not my day today.' Fischer thought to himself "No, nothing like that. Running off just gave us all a scare is all. And you've been quite stubborn in refusing help, and most treatment. So, don't do that." The man sounds unsure of himself, seemingly as if he has long entered territory he has no business being in.
Straightening out his jacket, he clears his throat, and says in galavarian "Well, I've got reports to write up. Charlie. Try to keep a better eye on her this time. And don't go injuring her further like last time." The nurse looked like he was about to protest, but knew better not to. Addressing the girl in Ninhundish, he says "Hopefully I'll be back soon, prince in tow"
Khaw & Keaa- Moderator
- Posts : 28
Join date : 2020-02-07
PROJECT: NIGHTCRAWLER
Shortly after the end of the Galavarian-Ninhundland War
Inside Gertrude’s Pub
Northwest district ‘Oldtown’
Varbrook
Before the war, the pub was a hole in the wall that was favored by people in Varbrook’s oldtown for being away from the hustle and bustle inherent to the section of the city that housed the home of the royal family, the HQ’s of both intelligence agencies, and several important cultural sites. The pub, which never saw much traffic from the tourists that flocked to see the historic sites in the district, and thus it was favored mostly by members of the intelligence services. It was a place where they could relax and discuss limited work topics in a relatively safe environment. After the war, the pub was even more deserted, as the intelligence services had taken some hard hits during the war, and still have not relocated back to their old offices. This is mostly due to the offices being in need of major repairs, with the Forign Relations Group HQ needing to be fully demolished and rebuilt due to the damage it sustained during the war. Currently sitting in the pub are 12 people, a collection of locals, and a pair of office agents, looking to relax after a long day's work.
“You know, the more I read the file you sent me, the less I understand.” William Dernback says as he takes a sip of drink.
“Look, I don’t know what to tell you buddy. Chief told me to crack the file and send it your way. Didn’t get much more than that. Hell, I've never even seen the file opened in all my time at the office.” Replies Joseph Ditter.
Giving a heavy sigh, Dernback leans back in his chair, and rubs his face with his free hand.
“You wanna hear the best part about this whole cluster fuck of an assignment?” Dernback asks.
“What? The fact that the chief hasn’t told you squat about why you have to brief the big man about this?” Ditter replies with a laugh.
“No, worse.” Dernback leans in and lowers his voice to a whisper. “I think Elias was on that case. Screw just being around for it I think it was his. I mean how the hell does a guy go from running a case that big to driving a desk? I mean I guess a position in the capital beats some shitty provincial job any day, but come on.”
Giving a low whistle, Ditter replies
“Damn, explains why the old bastard was tight lipped about the file. And why did he give me such a goddamn rash when I opened it back up.”
To call Elias old in relation to the two men present in the pub is a bit of an exaggeration. However, seeing as the two men were in their mid twenties, someone in their early 40s would most certainly seem ‘old’.
“Yeah, it’s even weirder that despite him knowing the most about the file, he won’t tell me squat about it. Alls I got was the most subtle and professional ‘fuck off’ of my short proffessional career. Only direction I’ve gotten from the director is to create a cohesive briefing meant for someone without clearance. You know how hard that is when the whole damn file has enough black ink to fill a swimming pool” Dernback says sullenly.
“Sounds to me like the file is relevant again for some reason, and the big man wants a brief on the contents of the file as a refresher. No idea why a cold murder case would be relevent after all we’ve been through though. I’m swamped enough as it is with missing persons reports. Why now?” Ditter says, rubbing his chin in thought.
“Fuck if I know man. The subject in the file seems pretty weird but then again, I haven't even finished the whole damn thing yet. Do you know just how large the file is? I haven't seen this much paperwork attached to a file ever. It’s honestly pretty exhaustive, but still manages to tell me nothing.” Dernback says, rubbing his temple
“Yeah, I got a feeling when I grabbed the physical folder. I don’t envy your position, but look at the bright side, you’ll probably get some good boy points for working directly with the director. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see if I hear anything as to why we’re digging up the file again.” Ditter replies, offering his friend a reassuring smile.
“Thanks Joe, I owe you one.” Dernback says, raising his glass.
“You can start paying me back by buying the next round” Ditter says while tapping his empty glass to his friend’s drink.
Letter from OIA Agent E. Fischer to FRG operative K.B. Lawrence. Dated November 3rd, 2013
Mr. Lawrence,
PROJECT NIGHTCRAWLER has been approved by OIA, so I expect you and I will be working together for the foreseeable future. As I understand it, you are my liaison to the team from FRG that will be working this case. Attached is the revised outline for NIGHTCRAWLER. Please review it for our meeting tomorrow morning.
Elias Fischer
Field Operations Officer
Office of Internal Affairs
The attached file reads
PROJECT: NIGHTCRAWLER
Objective: Kill/Capture of Subject codenamed ‘Gamma-1’
Budget: As required for completion of Objective
Overview: As per the Directive of the Archduke of Internal Affairs, under orders of his majesty King Brandt, Gamma-1 is now considered to be a priority target for both intelligence agencies. FRG has therefore seen fit to pool resources with OIA to achieve a mutual goal. Target is considered armed, efficient at escape and evasion, and set upon the killing of a child in the custody of OIA. Motive unclear.
Resources:
FRG is required to put three airframes of its reconnaissance drone fleet on the task of providing overwatch to the task force. Along with the teams associated with the drones, various Field Operatives have been assigned to perform low visibility reconnaissance in coordination with the findings of the task force. OIA will provide two full SAT teams, along with a complement of 25 field agents to be put directly under the command of Agent Fischer. OIA will also provide rotary wing support, along with armored transport. Low visibility vehicles will be the responsibility of OIA Acquisitions department. Both intel agencies are required to share any and all necessary databases relevant for the investigation. Approval has been given for teams to requisition arms as they see fit. Local police forces working under the direction of an OIA liaison will also provide support during high visibility operations. See below for Itemized list [subject to change with the changing needs of the task force]
AIRCRAFT
X2 MQ-9 Reaper Drones
X1 RQ-170 Sentinel
X2 UH-60
GROUND ASSETS
X20 MRAP vehicles
X10 Low visibility mobility vehicles (LVMV) [civilian cars]
Considerations:
Personnel are authorized to prosecute the target by any means necessary. Target is preferably taken alive. Deadly force is authorized should the target show hostile intent. All intel should flow to task force command, to ground force commander Agent Fischer.
Operations:
OIA has an investigation already open on Gamma-1, and their investigative branch will work in conjecture with FRG to locate the target. FRG will begin to conduct low visibility operations in conjunction with OIA agents in the greater Varbrook Area. Drone assets will conduct surveillance missions over a similar area, with drone coverage being supplied for any major operation, or by request. Elements of one SAT team will be kept in the premises of the hospital at all times, with the other team being on ready status to prosecute intel as it comes in. All off duty SAT personnel are required to be in a ready status should the situation demand it. Local and Provincial police departments have been notified to a limited extent of the situation, and will be on alert for the subject.
The following is an email from Agent Fischer to the Office of the Archduke of Domestic Affairs.
Honorable Archduke,
I write to you today to implore you to involve Prince Brandt in the Marigold Street case. He was in direct contact with the victim, and would be invaluable at opening said victim up to questioning. I, and many in the office have reason to believe that the gunman active in the city is after the victim in my custody, and not the prince. Therefore it is my firm belief that the amount of security brought on by both my team and the prince’s organic security detail would mean the shooter would not be bold enough to try any attack. I implore you to consider my case, and I hope that your response is with haste, as I fear time may not be on our side.
Agent E. Fischer.
Department of Internal Affairs
What Fischer could not have known when he penned that email, is just how much Jorge himself was attempting to get involved in the case.
November 4th, 2013
Of all the times he had screwed up, and angered his father, this time had to be the worst. Jorge was decently sure the door to his room was locked from the outside when he was sent to his room at night. Trying the window, as suicidal as it would have been to try and get down from the height his room was at, also was locked. He couldn’t exactly fault his father for over reacting. He had been told that the gunman he saw shoot down a girl in the street was actually aiming for him, and a part of the reason he couldn’t leave the castle was because of the threat to his life. What he couldn’t understand was why someone would want to kill him. It's not like he was first in line to the throne, and to his knowledge no one had gone after his older brother yet. Repeated attempts at seeing if the girl he saved was alive and recovering at the hospital, were frustrated not only by his father, but the Archduke of Domestic Affairs. He had nothing to do for days but stew on this thought. Rather, he had nothing to do but study and decided this was a more productive use of his time. While he idly played with a medal his grandfather had given him while he was still king, a knock came to his door.
“You know I can’t open the door right?”
He said without looking up.
“Ensuring that you are decent, your majesty”
A muffled voice on the other side of the door said.
“Yeah, well. You roll those dice buddy.”
There was a noticeable silence on the other side of the door, before the lock came off and the door opened. Standing next to a man in a black suit was his father, with a rather sour scowl on his face.
“Ah. Hello father. I was just kidding, you see?”
He says motioning to himself. Giving a dissatisfied huff, he mumbles something to the man in the suit, before leaving. Clearing his throat, the man says
“Ahem. Your majesty, I am Tobias Bechler, I run the OIA offices in the central provinces. I’m here to offer you an opportunity. We are well aware of your concern for the subject of the marigold street case, and were hoping you could assist us.”
Practically jumping out of his bed, Jorge shouted
“Can I!?”
Before realizing how childish he sounded, attempting to compose himself, he said flatly
“Erh, What do you mean?”
Motioning for the boy to follow him, the man began walking away from the room. Not needing more than that, he fell in step next to the man as they walked through the castle.
“We need you to speak to the subject, as she has proven stubborn in opening up to any of our staff. We need your people skills, your majesty.”
A great smile came to Jorge, and he giddy responded
“So that means she’s ok? Did you find the gunman? When can I visit? I-”
Cutting himself off again, he attempted to maintain the façade of professionality.
“I can do it.”
Leading the boy out to an MRAP sitting in the center of a motorcade, the man walked ahead of Jorge and opened the door. Extending his hand, he said
“Welcome aboard, your majesty.”
Shaking his hand vigorously, Jorge hopped into the back of the MRAP, and the motorcade set off to the hospital.
Inside Gertrude’s Pub
Northwest district ‘Oldtown’
Varbrook
Before the war, the pub was a hole in the wall that was favored by people in Varbrook’s oldtown for being away from the hustle and bustle inherent to the section of the city that housed the home of the royal family, the HQ’s of both intelligence agencies, and several important cultural sites. The pub, which never saw much traffic from the tourists that flocked to see the historic sites in the district, and thus it was favored mostly by members of the intelligence services. It was a place where they could relax and discuss limited work topics in a relatively safe environment. After the war, the pub was even more deserted, as the intelligence services had taken some hard hits during the war, and still have not relocated back to their old offices. This is mostly due to the offices being in need of major repairs, with the Forign Relations Group HQ needing to be fully demolished and rebuilt due to the damage it sustained during the war. Currently sitting in the pub are 12 people, a collection of locals, and a pair of office agents, looking to relax after a long day's work.
“You know, the more I read the file you sent me, the less I understand.” William Dernback says as he takes a sip of drink.
“Look, I don’t know what to tell you buddy. Chief told me to crack the file and send it your way. Didn’t get much more than that. Hell, I've never even seen the file opened in all my time at the office.” Replies Joseph Ditter.
Giving a heavy sigh, Dernback leans back in his chair, and rubs his face with his free hand.
“You wanna hear the best part about this whole cluster fuck of an assignment?” Dernback asks.
“What? The fact that the chief hasn’t told you squat about why you have to brief the big man about this?” Ditter replies with a laugh.
“No, worse.” Dernback leans in and lowers his voice to a whisper. “I think Elias was on that case. Screw just being around for it I think it was his. I mean how the hell does a guy go from running a case that big to driving a desk? I mean I guess a position in the capital beats some shitty provincial job any day, but come on.”
Giving a low whistle, Ditter replies
“Damn, explains why the old bastard was tight lipped about the file. And why did he give me such a goddamn rash when I opened it back up.”
To call Elias old in relation to the two men present in the pub is a bit of an exaggeration. However, seeing as the two men were in their mid twenties, someone in their early 40s would most certainly seem ‘old’.
“Yeah, it’s even weirder that despite him knowing the most about the file, he won’t tell me squat about it. Alls I got was the most subtle and professional ‘fuck off’ of my short proffessional career. Only direction I’ve gotten from the director is to create a cohesive briefing meant for someone without clearance. You know how hard that is when the whole damn file has enough black ink to fill a swimming pool” Dernback says sullenly.
“Sounds to me like the file is relevant again for some reason, and the big man wants a brief on the contents of the file as a refresher. No idea why a cold murder case would be relevent after all we’ve been through though. I’m swamped enough as it is with missing persons reports. Why now?” Ditter says, rubbing his chin in thought.
“Fuck if I know man. The subject in the file seems pretty weird but then again, I haven't even finished the whole damn thing yet. Do you know just how large the file is? I haven't seen this much paperwork attached to a file ever. It’s honestly pretty exhaustive, but still manages to tell me nothing.” Dernback says, rubbing his temple
“Yeah, I got a feeling when I grabbed the physical folder. I don’t envy your position, but look at the bright side, you’ll probably get some good boy points for working directly with the director. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see if I hear anything as to why we’re digging up the file again.” Ditter replies, offering his friend a reassuring smile.
“Thanks Joe, I owe you one.” Dernback says, raising his glass.
“You can start paying me back by buying the next round” Ditter says while tapping his empty glass to his friend’s drink.
Letter from OIA Agent E. Fischer to FRG operative K.B. Lawrence. Dated November 3rd, 2013
Mr. Lawrence,
PROJECT NIGHTCRAWLER has been approved by OIA, so I expect you and I will be working together for the foreseeable future. As I understand it, you are my liaison to the team from FRG that will be working this case. Attached is the revised outline for NIGHTCRAWLER. Please review it for our meeting tomorrow morning.
Elias Fischer
Field Operations Officer
Office of Internal Affairs
The attached file reads
PROJECT: NIGHTCRAWLER
Objective: Kill/Capture of Subject codenamed ‘Gamma-1’
Budget: As required for completion of Objective
Overview: As per the Directive of the Archduke of Internal Affairs, under orders of his majesty King Brandt, Gamma-1 is now considered to be a priority target for both intelligence agencies. FRG has therefore seen fit to pool resources with OIA to achieve a mutual goal. Target is considered armed, efficient at escape and evasion, and set upon the killing of a child in the custody of OIA. Motive unclear.
Resources:
FRG is required to put three airframes of its reconnaissance drone fleet on the task of providing overwatch to the task force. Along with the teams associated with the drones, various Field Operatives have been assigned to perform low visibility reconnaissance in coordination with the findings of the task force. OIA will provide two full SAT teams, along with a complement of 25 field agents to be put directly under the command of Agent Fischer. OIA will also provide rotary wing support, along with armored transport. Low visibility vehicles will be the responsibility of OIA Acquisitions department. Both intel agencies are required to share any and all necessary databases relevant for the investigation. Approval has been given for teams to requisition arms as they see fit. Local police forces working under the direction of an OIA liaison will also provide support during high visibility operations. See below for Itemized list [subject to change with the changing needs of the task force]
AIRCRAFT
X2 MQ-9 Reaper Drones
X1 RQ-170 Sentinel
X2 UH-60
GROUND ASSETS
X20 MRAP vehicles
X10 Low visibility mobility vehicles (LVMV) [civilian cars]
Considerations:
Personnel are authorized to prosecute the target by any means necessary. Target is preferably taken alive. Deadly force is authorized should the target show hostile intent. All intel should flow to task force command, to ground force commander Agent Fischer.
Operations:
OIA has an investigation already open on Gamma-1, and their investigative branch will work in conjecture with FRG to locate the target. FRG will begin to conduct low visibility operations in conjunction with OIA agents in the greater Varbrook Area. Drone assets will conduct surveillance missions over a similar area, with drone coverage being supplied for any major operation, or by request. Elements of one SAT team will be kept in the premises of the hospital at all times, with the other team being on ready status to prosecute intel as it comes in. All off duty SAT personnel are required to be in a ready status should the situation demand it. Local and Provincial police departments have been notified to a limited extent of the situation, and will be on alert for the subject.
The following is an email from Agent Fischer to the Office of the Archduke of Domestic Affairs.
Honorable Archduke,
I write to you today to implore you to involve Prince Brandt in the Marigold Street case. He was in direct contact with the victim, and would be invaluable at opening said victim up to questioning. I, and many in the office have reason to believe that the gunman active in the city is after the victim in my custody, and not the prince. Therefore it is my firm belief that the amount of security brought on by both my team and the prince’s organic security detail would mean the shooter would not be bold enough to try any attack. I implore you to consider my case, and I hope that your response is with haste, as I fear time may not be on our side.
Agent E. Fischer.
Department of Internal Affairs
What Fischer could not have known when he penned that email, is just how much Jorge himself was attempting to get involved in the case.
November 4th, 2013
Of all the times he had screwed up, and angered his father, this time had to be the worst. Jorge was decently sure the door to his room was locked from the outside when he was sent to his room at night. Trying the window, as suicidal as it would have been to try and get down from the height his room was at, also was locked. He couldn’t exactly fault his father for over reacting. He had been told that the gunman he saw shoot down a girl in the street was actually aiming for him, and a part of the reason he couldn’t leave the castle was because of the threat to his life. What he couldn’t understand was why someone would want to kill him. It's not like he was first in line to the throne, and to his knowledge no one had gone after his older brother yet. Repeated attempts at seeing if the girl he saved was alive and recovering at the hospital, were frustrated not only by his father, but the Archduke of Domestic Affairs. He had nothing to do for days but stew on this thought. Rather, he had nothing to do but study and decided this was a more productive use of his time. While he idly played with a medal his grandfather had given him while he was still king, a knock came to his door.
“You know I can’t open the door right?”
He said without looking up.
“Ensuring that you are decent, your majesty”
A muffled voice on the other side of the door said.
“Yeah, well. You roll those dice buddy.”
There was a noticeable silence on the other side of the door, before the lock came off and the door opened. Standing next to a man in a black suit was his father, with a rather sour scowl on his face.
“Ah. Hello father. I was just kidding, you see?”
He says motioning to himself. Giving a dissatisfied huff, he mumbles something to the man in the suit, before leaving. Clearing his throat, the man says
“Ahem. Your majesty, I am Tobias Bechler, I run the OIA offices in the central provinces. I’m here to offer you an opportunity. We are well aware of your concern for the subject of the marigold street case, and were hoping you could assist us.”
Practically jumping out of his bed, Jorge shouted
“Can I!?”
Before realizing how childish he sounded, attempting to compose himself, he said flatly
“Erh, What do you mean?”
Motioning for the boy to follow him, the man began walking away from the room. Not needing more than that, he fell in step next to the man as they walked through the castle.
“We need you to speak to the subject, as she has proven stubborn in opening up to any of our staff. We need your people skills, your majesty.”
A great smile came to Jorge, and he giddy responded
“So that means she’s ok? Did you find the gunman? When can I visit? I-”
Cutting himself off again, he attempted to maintain the façade of professionality.
“I can do it.”
Leading the boy out to an MRAP sitting in the center of a motorcade, the man walked ahead of Jorge and opened the door. Extending his hand, he said
“Welcome aboard, your majesty.”
Shaking his hand vigorously, Jorge hopped into the back of the MRAP, and the motorcade set off to the hospital.
Vault- Posts : 27
Join date : 2021-04-21
Re: OIA file #F8-782B [UNSOLVED]
Varbruk Royal Palace, sometime after the Galvarian-Ninhundish War. . .
The halls of the royal palace were lit brightly so as to not keep a single inch of the many rooms and halls in the company of shadows. The halls were spotless, not a single dust ball and not a single spec of dirt, or at least that was the case until a full brick flew through the chilling wind and crashed through the glass of the elevated window, splattering shards of glass all over the prestigious tile and carpet that was as soft as silk. The figure responsible for such a crude breaking and entering would pull herself up on the elevated window seal and proceeded to kick the still remaining shards of glass from the seal of the window to the outside with the heels of her black combat boots. With a self satisfied smile after space that was once the window was ready to move through she would scoot in past the seal and into the hallway itself.
She quickly looked to the left and then to the right, seeing no one visible. After a sigh of relief and with great haste the young blond hair blue eyed figure darted down the halls of the ancient castle exceedingly face past that she was only barely able to maintain without causing her lungs to be completely drained. The maid moved swiftly from hallway to hallway, not even stopping to look down each hall, as if sprinting down a path that she had ran down many times before. Her brazenness however did not leave her free to pay no to mind to the other servants of the castle, no matter how determined she was to reach her destination, as when she saw a pair of maids walking down the hallway she was in from the border of her vision she slowed down and walked in a normal pace.
As they walked past each other she put on a great smile and happily waved at the two, getting a similar wave from both in return, none of them seeming to exchange a word towards each other. Although the eldest maid seemed to look at the disguised intruder with a hint of suspicion. Once they were twenty feet away she went back into her sprint, dashing with even more speed before she suddenly halted herself as she passed one particular door, tripping over her own feet as the laws of physics did not seem to like her sudden deceleration at al as she collapsed to the ground and rolled for a couple seconds.
Without taking even a second to catch her breath she picked herself up and ran to the door. lShe did not hold towels, nor food, nor any cleaning supplies, in fact she held nothing at all. Her arms barely swung back and fourth, doing her best to keep it to herself. At her stomping landed her exactly where she wanted to be, at the outer doors to a master bedroom. The young maid placed herself on the ground as she looked under the door to see no light except for that of the serene light that reflected off the moon. Obviously his majesty must be sleeping, she chuckled to herself ‘What a rookie mistake.’ She thinks to herself as an overconfident smirk grew on her face before she slowly cracked the door open wide enough for her thin frame to slip through.
The room she found herself in was dark, anything past a foot was barely visible to her yet as of now unadjusted eyes. She slowly crept forward towards the bed in an attempt to find her target, every step deliberate, every step silent as she made sure to balance herself and her weight. She slowly approached the bed and saw that something was definitely there, the vague silhouette of a figure sleeping. She took in a deep celebratory breath as she hyped herself up to action the target of her interest.
'Thank you, Karl.' Jorge thought to himself. While he may have ragged on his brother a lot for playing soldier, he was a damn master of hide and sneak because of his aspirations. In turn, Jorge had become quite adept at hiding himself. Let alone all the tricks he picked up from Is over the years.
Allowing the aforementioned woman to slip into his room, Jorge remained a shadow that waited next to his dresser. Many times in the years he had known Is, she was able to sneak up on his and his brothers. Not this time. There was only so many ways one could sneak into the castle, and his father had patched up several after Is' previous attempts.
'Time for some payback' Jorge thought as an evil smile crept across his face. Gliding like a shadow, he took two steps, then launched, practically tackling the girl, sending her airborne. The frightened girl would scream with all the air she had stored up in her lungs, sounding near exactly as if she was being murdered. The scream did not stop when she gained air via the tackle but only when she lightly bounced on the bed. "Hey there Auriel, Whacha doin?" He exclaimed triumphantly as he wrapped her in a bear hug, squeezing her tight as if she was a plush toy.
Despite how pointless it was the girl would struggle against the constraining hug. Slapping? Nope she was not even able to raise her arms as they were restrained to her body in the hug. Kicking? There was nothing to kick in front of her, only behind her. Seeming this as her only option she would start frantically kicking the knee of the Prince with her boot while being held up, however there were no promising results as Jorge remained strong through all this.
“You aren’t supposed to call me that, Jorge, let me go!” She exclaimed like a child as she pouted, embarrassment taking her face as she tried to then tried wiggle out of the hug, however this only led to her falling even deeper into his hug, unintentionally of course. Even after all these years she never found out how pointless it was to try to get Jorge to not call her by her birth name, instead hoping that one day he would see the reason in her words, what a foolish train of thought is it not?
Laughing maniacally, Jorge shouts "I caught you Schneehase!" He was about to say more as to rub salt in the girl's wounds when a pair of guards, along with a very tired looking Michael, comes bursting into the room, displeased looks on both of them as one of the guards turned his flashlight on for a brief second to illuminate the room to reveal what was going on. Seeing the scene, Michael is about to complain, but he stops short and dismisses both of the guards back to their regular duty posts. "Oh hey, you got her. Someone should take a picture." He says in a sarcastic celebratory tone. The girl was just about to demand to be let go again before the eldest brother barged in with two of the royal guard. Her face turns completely red with embarrassment as she stops struggling out of fear of looking too childish.
"Can you?" Jorge replies with excitement that was so strong it was like he was as a child opening up Christmas presents. Shrugging his shoulders, Michael pulls his phone out the pockets of his pajama pants. Upon Micheal shrugging she would yell. “I swear to me, Mickey if you-!” She gets cut off as the harsh light from the phone’s camera flash sends her into a temporary daze as she attempts to look away from the camera in frustration, as to deny the brothers a complete victory over her. Smiling wide Jorge can barely contain his laughter as the photo is taken. Leaving the room, Michael says
"Alright, you kids have fun now. But for god sakes, keep it down, will ya?” He requests as he flashes an evil smile to match Jorge's, before shutting door behind him, enveloping the room in darkness yet again.
Laughing even harder, Jorge release her from the bear hug, only to readjust and throw her in a headlock that barely did not crush her windpipe. Ruffling her hair, he says "I've waited a long time for this moment. So, what brings you around this time, Schneehase?" She would become even more pitiful once put in a headlock, desperately slapping Jorge’s arms and attempting to reach around to slap Jorge’s face, facing only failure as she yourlu complains ”This isn’t fun anymore, Jorge!” She complained mournfully as she struggled fruitlessly against the headlock, questioning “Is it so much to ask for me to visit the dear Brandts without getting assaulted?”
After getting a good look at her tomato red face, he says "Awww, what's the matter snow white? Don't like it when the shoes on the other foot? Well too bad! God victory has never tasted so sweet!" He is over joyed, and boasts a large smile across his face. She struggled further as Jorge pointed out her embarrassment. “I think you mean, ‘Mös, victory has never tasted so sweet’. Now let me go!!” Her voice cracks as she yells.
Still laughing at her state, Jorge would eventually relent, and release the girl. However, as one final juvenile act, he ensured her momentum would carry her to his bed once again, and cause her to fall into it. Standing triumphantly over her in a stance truly befitting a prince. On hearing Is' honorific title, he rolls his eyes, and helps her to her feet. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry your ladyship. Allow me to make it better" He gives a fake bow, and takes a pretend hat off his head. He then grabs her hand and pretends to kiss it, before standing upright.
She would light up like a Christmas tree as Jorge grabs her hands and pretends to kiss it. “Stop teasing me!” She says as she pulls back her hand "Pfft, all's fair in the games you play, Auriel." Immediately she would yell back “Stop calling me that Jorge, it’s taboo!” She says as she crosses her arms and subconsciously pouts, her eyes darting off to the darkest corner of the room. Scoffing, he replies "I refuse to refer to you as a god, and I'm also not referring to you as "Is". Or would you rather me come up with another nickname?"
“My name is my punishment to bear. It’s culturally inappropriate to refer to me as my grave name, especially since you are in the know.” She attempts to explain for the thousandth time this decade. Throwing his hands up, he replies "Still don't care, Elle. Your 'grave name' suits you well. It's befitting a girl of your status, not some punishment given out to you." Any onlooker would get the feeling the two have had this exact exchange on more than one occasion. “What is that supposed to mean?!?” A hint of anger overtook the girl at the disregard of her cultural standards. “How does that stupid name quote and quote fit me better?” She openly questioned. “Even Micky calls me Is!”
Giving her a warm smile, he says "Because, Elle, you're a strong and beautiful young woman. Is just doesn't illustrate who you are in my opinion. It didn't fit the nurse biting child and it doesn't fit you now. Auriel is a name more befitting the heir to a mighty nation such as Khoslol. Micky also eats his cereal dry, his opinion isn't valid." He says defiantly. The girl’s face would begin to normalize before she once again was the subject of bright pink overtaking her cheeks due to the compliments from the Prince, her eyes would dart away as she rubbed her arm. “Yo- you really-?” The girl seemed to be flushed with emotions as she inhaled deeply and tensed up, as her hands got super sensitive as she wiped away some stray strands of hair behind her ear, clearly overwhelmed from the Second Prince’s comment as she hugged onto herself as she gleefully eeked. After a couple seconds she would calm down and meekly attempt to drive away attention. “Yo- you don’t mean that, Jorge. . .” She says dismissively, attempting to keep herself in check as she pouts.
"So, were you just coming to check the castle's security measures out or was there something you needed?" The girl would bury her face in her hands as she buried her embarrassed face in it, sheepishly stating “I just wanted to check up on you guys, I was worried to death about you two when war broke out.” He ponders for a moment, rubbing his chin. Noting her embarrassment, he laughs "That sweet of you, We made it through ok, mostly."
It is clear through her muffled voice that she is choking up with tears as she barely manages to keep herself up. “I- I thought I was gonna lose you two. . .” An awkward silence hangs in the air, leaving the elephant in the room unsaid. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he says reassuringly "Hey, we made it, and the war is over. Not for a lack of trying on the Hun's part." Rummaging through his nightstand, he produces a bottle and says "This calls for cele-aw goddamnit empty? Why are they always empty?" She raises her head from her hand, attempting to rub the tears away on her sleeves. “You were always a drunkard, dear Jorge. You probably drank it all to go to sleep.”
Pretending to be hurt, he says "Hey. I'm no drunkard. Drunkards are slobs that have no class. I am the classiest motherfucker on this side of Eporan. Speaking of booze though, what's to say we ditch the castle and get into some trouble? For old times sake." He flashes a mischievous smile, and goes to grab some things to prepare to leave. “If you are the classiest man on this side of the continent I don’t think there is any hope left.” Immediately the girl would jump at the chance to spend even more time with Jorge, leaping from the carpeted floor, into the air, and back onto her feet. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” She said excitedly, still dressed as a maid. She would run over to Jorge and hug onto his arm tightly and lovingly, looking up at him with a sweet smile. “Where are we gonna go????”
Raising an eyebrow at her sudden turn around, he'd say "I know a good bar. Not too far. Should be able to get into it fairly incognito. Unless you have a better idea. . . " “I don't, so let's go now! It can be just as fun as old times!” She exclaimed excitedly. Looking her up and down he adds "but not looking like that." He says gesturing to the maid outfit "You have no right to talk about class-" He puts her in another headlock "When you look like this. There's gotta be something you can change into around here somewhere." What confidence she had would start to drain as she as a frown grew on her face* “Wha-.” She would once again be caught off by the actions of Jorge, struggling even harder than last time. “Bu- but I don’t have anything!” She attempts to explain as doesn’t not listen to her response, he drags her off.
Dragging the unwilling girl through the halls, he eventually stops in front of a door. above it on a plaque it says 'maid quarters'. banging on the door multiple times with his free hand he says
"Hey, open up. Need a favor." There is the sound of shuffling feet, and then the door opens slightly, with a very tired maid's head poking out from the crack in the door. She sleepily says "Young master? You're not trying to sneak out again are you? You know-" Cutting her off, he says "Yeah yeah, i know. I need to borrow clothes for this one" He says holding the girl up, still locked in a headlock. "I can make it worth your while-" This time, he is cut off when the girl squeals "I know the perfect thing for her!" grabbing her by the hand, she is dragged into the room. Inside, is a rather spacious quarters that resembles more of an apartment than anything. Quickly, Is is handed a bunch of clothes, pointed to a private area, and encouraged to try them on.
As the struggling girl would be released from the headlock and dropped onto the floor on her feet, she barely found time to catch her breath before she got dragged into the dark abyss of the room, knowing that her pleas and objections would be add useless as speaking in her mother tongue she was as limp as a noddle. She would meekly take the clothes handed to her before sheepishly walking to the private area.
It took a couple minutes before the girl emerged, wearing a short black dress. It was clear that she was not used to anything that didn’t cover her up from head to ankle as she seemed to pull the skirt of the dress down as she embarrassingly tried to cover up as much of herself as possible, ashamedly coming out. “I- I don’t think it fits, it’s so short.” She nervously said before the maid grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her to the exit.
“Nonsense, young miss! It fits rather perfectly and you look stunning in it.” The girl’s face would only grow redder as the door was opened and she was pushed out, her face revealing she was rather embarrassed about what she was put into. Beaming as she steps out of the room, Jorge says "You look good, Elle, now c'mon, before the guards get wise.” Taking off, without waiting her, he turns over his shoulder, he calls "last one out of the castle buys the first round" The girl would immediately dart after the prince “Hey wait up!”
November 4th, 2013
The motorcade carrying the prince rumbled up to the hospital, consisting of solely military vehicles painted black. Guard presence at the hospital today is tripled, with most visible kitted out with the latest and greatest personal equipment. A helicopter circles overhead, and far up in the sky, unseen lies an MQ-9. Jorge is not allowed to appreciate the sight of all the security present, as he is quickly whisked into the safety of the hospital. Escorting him to the victim's room are several office agents kitted out for low visibility operations, along with Agent Fischer. Getting curious on the way there, he asks "So, if the best of the office can't get a child to talk, we're kinda fucked if you had to interrogate a real captive no?"
Scoffing at the question, but playing it off as a laugh, Fischer replies "Your majesty, our normal interrogation techniques wouldn't be fitting for a child, and besides, she's the victim. Consider this more of an interview, practice for when you're out there interacting with diplomats from across the world." Nodding his head unconvinced, he shrugs and says "I'll try my best. I'm really just here to make sure she's gotten the proper treatment. And to finally get out of the castle."
Not wanting to put up with his childish antics any longer, Fischer says, highly passive aggressive
"You know your majesty, if you don't think you'll be any help, we can always return you to the castle, and tell your father of your performance."
Jorge gives the man a death glare, but says nothing further. Getting to the door, Fischer goes to knock on it when he notices it's slightly ajar. Pushing it open reveals an empty room "Sonofa bitch." He says to himself. The guard in charge of watching the door is also nowhere in sight. Speaking into a small handheld radio, Fishcer would say "Fischer to all elements, Lambda is loose. I say again, Lambda is loose"
Banging on the side of the door, he curses angrily, while Jorge looks on with mild bemusement "You lost a child? In your own facility? Pfft." Giving the boy a death glare, he says to the accompanying guards "Stay here with the prince, I'll go after the girl"
The girl would be hidden in the doorway leading to another room on the third floor on the opposite side of the building, keeping her hand on her mouth as to keep her breathing muffled as the guard in charge of protecting her runs down the hall, looking for her, passing her as she takes a sharp turn in his quest to find her. After half a dozen seconds she would release her hold on herself and slowly step back in the hallway, silently running the way that she came from, looking at all of the rooms that she had passed by during the chase. Curiosity overwhelmed her as she began peeking into the rooms, her small arms quietly pulling up a door as she half hazardously entered.
Meanwhile, as the girl explores, she finds more hospital rooms similar to her own. However the last door she checked was different, expecting another hospital room, a grizzly site is revealed. The room looks to be an 'interrogation' chamber. With a hospital bed being replaced by a gurney, and a host of 'medical' tools that look like they would be highly improper to use. Below the gurney, lies a large reddish brown stain, faded with time. It's clearly not human feces, which only leads to one other conclusion. Footsteps begin to ring out across the hospital, as doors are shut and guarded to prevent the girl from escaping. Footsteps looking for the girl double, and it sounds like some are closeby.
The girl would let out a terrified screech upon realizing what she has walked in on. Immediately she would dart out of the room and into the hallway, sprinting down the hallway in a speed previously thought to be impossible for the girl, not even looking where she was going or if anyone was nearby she would keep sprinting until came at a intersection, keeping her momentum as she kept right. Hearing the yell, a call would come over the radio "This is Fog-3, we got her on our floor, moving to intercept" As the girl runs with reckless abandon an OIA goon rounds the corner, she promptly runs into him, with the collision sending her on her backside. Quickly picking her up, the man says "Alright, that's enough of that. Time to get you back to your room"
The girl would be dazed for several seconds and lasting some time into her being picked up. Eventually she came and began to panic about her situation with her new found knowledge of what was happening at this hospital. Immediately she would begin smacking the goon over the head repeatedly as she yelled in Galvarian. “Let me down!” Grunting, the man would switch the way he's carrying the girl, and place her under the arm, almost like a football. Grabbing his radio with a free hand he says "Call it off, I got her." As they make their way back to the room, Fischer comes back, and says to Jorge. "Your highness, you can be of great use to us at this moment, I'm going to ask you to step into a side room." Shrugging, Jorge enters the room across from the girl’s room and closes the door. Just in time for the victim to round the corner with her captor, making a fuss the entire way. The goon brings her into the room, and Fischer enters behind him. The guard then places Is down on the bed, and Fischer says "Now I thought you promised me you'd be nicer to my staff?"
“This isn’t hospital, it is blood temple!” The girl would exclaim angrily in her broken Galvarian, attempting to jump out of the bed and back onto her feet so she can have some of her own urgency. She broke away to get some distance from the men, clearly angry as she clenched her fist, on edge. Not letting her get too far, the office goon picks her up by the scruff of her shirt that was part of the set of baggy clothes she was loaned, and holds her at arm's length. The girl would immediately start smacking the agent’s hand as he grabs her by the shirt, annoyed and angry. Fischer frowns, and says to himself "Blood temple? Never heard that one before" Giving the girl a disapproving look, he says "You know, I made good on my word. Got the prince to show up today, but your stunt scared him away"
Suddenly the girl’s face would drain as she would begin tearing up slowly, not saying anything as any resistance came crumbling down. She would sadly go to her bed and slam her face into it, defeated. Glad that the girl was finally cooperating, he asked a question, attempting to hide the triumphant glee in his voice "Can you promise me you wont try running off again?" Nothing would come from the girl for several seconds before a very muffled and sound voice came from her. “What’s the point?” Smiling, the man says "It'll have to do."
Calling over his shoulder he says "Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind." Walking into the room comes a boy with dark brown hair, cut into a messy comb over. His hair looks like it's in dire need of cutting, because it looks slightly longer than it should be. Instead of some traditional royal attire, he wears a pair of khaki pants with a blue button down shirt. Scratching the back of his neck, he says "Was that really needed?" Looking to the girl he says "Well your doing well enough to give the office a run for its money, so that's a good sign. Pun intended.” Fischer gives him an exasperated look, and Jorge adds nervously "Ah, where are my manners?" He takes a half bow, clearly trained heavily in etiquette, and finishes with "Jorge Brandt, second in line to the throne, what's your name?"
The girl remained unmoving until she heard the agent’s request for the prince to enter. Immediately she springed up with tears still in her eyes, her eyes becoming transfixed on him as her cheeks became like that of cherries. The entire world would seem to collapse and become numb around her, only seeing the Prince and only hearing the Prince. Her breathing climbed to a rapid and excited rate as she looked as gleeful as anyone in the country has ever seen her. Her mouth was ajar as she just stood there stunned as the Prince introduced himself and requested her name. She would shake her head feverishly as to bring herself back to reality, attempting to respond but failing in any and all regards. “I- um- I. I- I I.” The girl stammered on the same word repeatedly as her voice cracked as she excitedly asked. “A- are you a real prince???”
Cocking his head to one side. He looks between Fischer and the girl. "O-K. See what you mean now. Unorthodox, got it." he says to Fischer. Seeing an opportunity to get the girl talking, Fischer motions to the guard to leave the room, following him after saying "I think we oughta let you two talk. We'll be outside." Jorge goes to voice a complaint but it's left on deaf ears as the agent walks out of the room. Addressing the girls question, he says "Yes. Yes I am. Son of Albert Brandt, King of Galavaria. Great Grandson to Erich Brandt, first of the line." It seems as though he's recited this line 1000 times, his next question feels far more natural however.
"I'm sorry but I didn't catch you name. Can you tell me your name?"
The girl would let out a gleeful squeal as within a second she was upon the prince, before he knew it the girl would be clingy hugging onto the princely tightly, excitedly exclaiming. “I always wanted to meet a real prince! I wish I was a real princess!” She said while burying her face into the shirt of the Prince, taking in a deep breath as it seems that her greatest wish as a girl was given to her all in one moment. After getting the wind knocked out of him by a child throwing themselves at him, Jorge would attempt to pry her off of him, gently. A guard pokes his head into the room. Jorge gives him an ok sign, and the look on his face gets the guard to chuckle before removing himself. "Uh...Well now you have?" Confused, he thinks to himself 'and they had problems getting her to talk?' Composing himself, he gives the girl a light pat on the back before finishing removing her from the death grip hug. Confusion still palpably on his face, he says "You know a conversation's pretty one sided when you don't even know the other person's name."
The girl’s joy would begin to rapidly drain out of her as she felt the prince begin to detach the girl from himself. With this new found evidence her self esteem would plummet. She would look at him, not with the same look as before, instead looking at him with a dangerous mixture of shame, confusion, and despair. “Wha-.” She would mutter in complete and utter confusion as she was completely removed from her hug. A pained expression would paint itself on the young girl’s face as tears now began to stream down her face, unsure why such a gracious hero would remove himself from her embrace. She sniffled heavily as tears blocked her vision as she stepped back away from the prince, her eyes calling to the floor in complete and utter shame, barely managing to say. “I- I- I don’t like- like my name. . . It not ni-ce name, mean name.”*She stepped back enough that she hit the frame of the bed, hugging herself with both of her arms to give herself some small bit of comfort as she attempted to stop herself from sobbing.
Slapping his had to his head, he says to himself "man, screwin this up already.” shaking his head, he crouches down to get eye level with the girl. Putting on his best smile, he says "Hey, there's no need to cry. I'm sure you have a very nice name." The girl would refuse to look at the Prince, too ashamed and too scared to have her hopes and dreams dashed twice in the same day. She would begin to audibly cry more when he implied that she has a very nice name. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he says "Well, if you don't wanna tell me your name, I suppose I gotta make one up till I learn it." Standing up, he rubs his chin "How about..Aha! Schneehase! I think it fits you perfectly." Flinching heavily and looking up at him with fear in her eyes as she feels his hand on her shoulder, upon this her sobbing would stop and no new tears would come. Upon being crowned a new name she would look off to the side, dismissively. “I am no rabbit. . .”
'Well, you made a child cry. Congrats asshole' Jorge thinks to himself before giving an exasperated sigh, he sits on the hospital bed, and frowns. 'She has a much better grasp of the language then I was told. Good, I didn't wanna have to do all this in Kanakadorikan.' He thinks to himself "You don't like it? I thought it was clever." he says pouting, getting an idea in his head, he makes a show of struggling and says "Well since I don't know your name I'll just have to refer to you as Schneehase for now. And I for one, think it fits. You're pale like the hares up in the mountains, and have a tendency to run away I hear."
The girl would seem to be hurt about how all he seemed to care about in the moment was the fact that she was as pale as the snow and that she had a tendency for running away, thusly the pained expression would remain as she looked up at the Prince that was now sitting on her bed as she still remained planted on the ground. As Jorge’s expectations seemed to not be matched so would the girl’s as she looked at him as if she was expecting something, not very much amused with the Prince so far. “I thought Princes were supposed to be nice and not tease people. . .” She muttered to herself in a bit better Galvarian.
Realizing he was getting no where, he decides to switch up his tactics. Gently as possible, he says "You know, Agent Fischer said you really wanted to meet me. Did you have anything you wanted to know? Not every day you get a private audience with a prince. I'll be very forthcoming with my answers, but you gotta promise to answer some of my questions, ok?” She immediately asked, confused in tone as she dodged the question on if she would actually answer back his questions or not, skipping immediately to what she wanted to ask. “Why did you help me?”
Chuckling at the girl's mumblings, he says
"And usually, subjects of the kingdom have the common courtesy to greet royalty properly" The girl’s voice would become somewhat annoyed as she said in a tiny fit of anger.* “I am not one of your subjects. . .”
Laughing at the thought he says “But nah, I don't want that, what I'd like truly is to get to know you, I've been very worried." He says giving her a warm smile “Why don't you take a seat up on the bed with me, it's more comfortable then the floor. Need a hand getting up here?" He extends a hand. The warm smile displayed towards her would send her heart fluttering, asking in a cautious and scared tone;unsure on if it would be safe to take the prince at his word or not, especially after he took her expectations behind the barn and shot it in cold blood. “Wha- do- do you mean that?” She asked as she attempted to keep her excitement from making itself too apparent. The blush that had faded flooded back into her as she extended his hand towards her. Her eyes would be overcome with joy as she would take his hand, her light frame making her exceptionally easy to pull up.
Happy to have some progress, he ignores the blatant lack of a response, and says happily
"Well first-" Pulling her up, he guides her to sit down near the headboard. "There we go. As for why I helped you? Why wouldn't I? You were hurt bad, and my guards are what drove that man away. As for not being a subject, what do you mean? Where are you from?" Once pulled up the girl would happily sit down as close to the Prince as she could, clearly enjoying just being near her. She kept both of her hands on her lap ever so respectfully as she kept her eyes on her hands. She used every ounce of her self control as to not stop herself from wrapping her arms on the prince, shaking slightly out of nervousness. “Does that matter? I will be leaving soon.” She stated with complete seriousness in her tone.
Tilting his head to one side in confusion, he says "Well yeah it matters. How else are we gonna get you back to your family if we don't know where they are?" studying her intently, confusion written on his face, he adds "How exactly do you plan on getting anywhere? Actually, nevermind. I think you should stay here until we can deal with the man that hurt you, then we can see about getting you home." The girl would look back at him in complete and utter confusion. “Family?” She looks at him with utter disbelief for a few seconds before a smile comes across her face. “Oh, there is no need to worry about that, they aren’t even worried!” She says, attempting to not make the prince worry. “There is no need to worry about me, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
Laughing at the absurdity of the situation, he says "Out of my hair? I don't understand. How can your family not be worried, shot by some monster and left to die on the streets of a foreign nation." once again subtle anger slips into his voice, but rapidly fades like a tide to shore. "Now you need to understand, you aren't a burden to us, and we are going to catch the bad man. And I want you to stay here, where its safe, until you do." Saying that last part loud enough that Agent Fischer could hear, he poked his head into the room and said "We're on it. The bad man won't have many places to hide. All the people you see here are here to protect you, and hunt the bad man." Without waiting for a reply, he left again, as his cell phone started to ring.
She only smiled at Jorge’s adamantly claiming that they would find the shooter, only responding verbally when he was done on that tangent. “No need to! You won’t find him anyways.” She says, her joyous tone still remains even when speaking of the man, seeming to be happy for as long as she was near the prince. “It’s not really something they should or do worry themselves with, you know?” She asked, hoping that the prince could understand the meaning behind her words.
Noting the girl's fragile emotional state, along with her rosy cheeks, he smiles, and says "Yes, I do. It was quite scary to see that man hurt you, especially with you being so young. How could someone do something like that?" A bit of anger creeps into his voice, and his question is seemingly asked to no one. Upon the Prince’s admittance the girl would become even more flustered, focusing more so on him seeming to care about her than his anger on the action that was taken against her, only to manage to get out a couple words. “You’re nice. . .” She said meekly. Beaming now that the girl was starting to relax, he put on a fake pout "I have my moments." Suppressing a chuckle at the girl's easily flustered nature, he adds "I still think Schneehase is a great name, you even have little red cheeks like those snow hares have noses. Think of it like a title, or a codename, given to you by royalty. That is unless you'll tell me your real name"
She would embarrassingly look off to the side of the room, attempting to hide her ever constantly red cheeks from the majesty of the Prince, happily asking. “Oh! So like how I used to have a secret identity when I was younger?” Smiling at how similar she sounded to his younger brother when talking about secret identities, he asked, rather amused "Something like that Schneehase, what was your secret identity? If I'm allowed to know" She would pipe up “Of course you’re allowed to know! Well, whenever I’m out with my sisters they tell people I am someone else’s daughter! Y’know, they wanna keep it extra secret so they act confused and mad when I call them sisters even when it’s just us!” She said excitedly as if she was speaking of a game. Jorge takes a moment to process the information. He opens and closes his mouth several times, before saying. "They wouldn't treat you like a sister? Tell me, what other kinds of games would they play with you?" 'Jesus Christ, this kid bats 1000 at the game of life' He thinks to himself.
The girl looks just a little bit sad as she answers his question. “Um. . . well. .” She would push her fingers together as she tried to think. “We- um. . they always say they were too busy to play with me. . .” She said with sorrow in her voice before piping back up. “But that was two years ago when I last saw them, I’m sure they are more willing to play with me now!” She exclaimed with confidence while smiling greatly. “I. . I really hope they like me! I really really like them! I always wanted to play with them and to call me sister and do family stuff!” She said with genuine hope before she looked up at Jorge. “What is your family like?” She asked excitedly. His mouth falls open "I-" he seems genuinely at a loss for words. He gives the girl a look of great pity. Deciding to leave that alone for now, he answers the girl's question "Well, I have two brothers. A younger brother named Karl, who's about your age actually. He's adventurous, and doesn't seem to fear anything. Kind of oblivious though. Then there's my older brother, Michael. He's the air to the throne so he spends most of his time studying hard to fill, my dad, the king's shoes. He's a bit stuck up, and kinda shut in, but I know he means well."
“Are they nice to you? What is your father like? Is he nice? Is he a good father?” The girl asked with great excitement, seeming really transfixed on the king, his father. “They sound like nice people! Are they as nice as you?” She seemed to not even give half a second for the Prince to answer before she asked her second set of questions. Clearing his throat, he says "Yes, I'd say we all get along just fine. We joke with each other a lot, and some days we can get on each others nerves, but in the end we're still brothers. My dad, ha. Right." The truth was he and his father hadn't seen eye to eye in a few years. What with his, as his father would call it, 'rebellious' streak. It's not like he'd tell a stranger that, let alone a child. "My dad is a stern man, but he cares about us deeply. Yeah, I'd say he's been a good father, but I've only ever had the one you know?" He eyes her with a mix of suspicion and sadness, slowly putting together the non existent home life the girl has.
“Wow! I bet you guys play with each other all the time!” She says as she takes the time to imagine the scenario itself, only plastering an even bigger smile on her face at such a thought. At the Prince’s reaffirming question she would shake her head rapidly to signal she did not “I don’t really know. . . but your father sounds really nice! I wish I could have met my father! Sisters for some reason keep trying to tell me dad wasn’t my father like he was to them, they have really weird jokes, and they never really seemed to laugh after saying it. Do your siblings do weird jokes like that too?” She says, genuinely confused but curious about how other family dynamics worked.
Returning to being concerned with her adamant denial that they won't catch the shooter. Taking another long pause, and giving the girl a concerned look. "You know agent Fischer right? Well he works for a government group that's very, very good at catching bad people. I'm gonna make sure he's gonna catch the bad man. I promise you, that-" he to stop himself short from saying 'bastard', and instead replaced it with
"-bad man won't bother you after we find him."
A bit of pride seeps into Jorge's voice. As if to punctuate his point, a helicopter passed by the hospital. A look of concern was on her face as Jorge talked. “If you say so. . .” She said while scratching the back of her head, clearly not holding the same confidence as the Prince. “Why do you call him a bad man?” She asked while tilting her head. Noting her disbelief, and vowing to put some pressure on his dad to pressure the OIA to get this right, he says "Because he hurt you, and that's not something we like in this country." He struggles to find the right words that a child would understand, and it shows.
Her confused smile remained as she explained. “Oh, but like, I deserve it(?).” Her statement seemed almost like a question as she gleefully looked up at Jorge. At the last girl's sentence, he snaps "No! No you don't! The only one that deserves a bullet are the ones that condemned you to this fate!" he yells, and immediately regrets it. "There is very little you could have done in your life that could have you deserve such treatment" he says much quieter. The girl would become shaken by the sudden yelling, scrunching up, unsure if she had said something wrong to anger the Prince. “Sss- sorry, your highness.” She said with fear in her voice. Upon his last statement she would look off to the side, as if wanting to say something but not entirely sure if she should or not. “What would you consider the very little?”
Her statements would only add to his anger, and it shows. However he fights it down, and says, in as gentle a voice as could be mustered given his aggravation "Nothing you are capable of." Seeing that his anger was scaring the girl, he quickly lost most of his fire, and it was replaced with sorrow
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I-" He is cut off by Agent Fischer, who walks into the room "I think that's enough for now, your majesty. You're a little heated, and I don't want you upsetting the victim. Let's take a walk." He says in his usual business like manner. The girl’s face would grow worried as the thought of Jorge leaving her hung over her like a pendulum. “But I’m not upset. . .” She would try to explain, her tone not really selling it as she did seem scared as she looked up at both Jorge and Fischer.
Running his hand through his hair, Jorge says
"I'll be back. Don't you worry." Leading him outside the room, and down the hall, Agent Fischer says "Well, I'll be damned. You got her talking, when several days of us doing it couldn't. Well done your majesty. I think we may call you back if she starts to prove to be unresponsive again." Stiffing, Jorge asks, seemingly knowing the answer “You only wanted me to get her talking, you had no intention of involving me on the case. Did you?" Giving him a business smile, Agent Fischer replies "OIA has it under control, your majesty, I wouldn't worry about it." Jorge stops walking, and reaches into his shirt, and pulls out a necklace with the royal seal on it. "See this, Agent Fischer? This means I'm on the case. Benefit to you is I'm going to tell my father to write you a blank check for as long as I'm a part of this. So, do you think we can work together?" He says, extending a hand. Studying him intensely, Fischer would hesitate for a moment, before saying "Your terms are fair young master Brandt. I will ask that you coordinate all your actions with me, as bringing you here is quite the security risk."
The halls of the royal palace were lit brightly so as to not keep a single inch of the many rooms and halls in the company of shadows. The halls were spotless, not a single dust ball and not a single spec of dirt, or at least that was the case until a full brick flew through the chilling wind and crashed through the glass of the elevated window, splattering shards of glass all over the prestigious tile and carpet that was as soft as silk. The figure responsible for such a crude breaking and entering would pull herself up on the elevated window seal and proceeded to kick the still remaining shards of glass from the seal of the window to the outside with the heels of her black combat boots. With a self satisfied smile after space that was once the window was ready to move through she would scoot in past the seal and into the hallway itself.
She quickly looked to the left and then to the right, seeing no one visible. After a sigh of relief and with great haste the young blond hair blue eyed figure darted down the halls of the ancient castle exceedingly face past that she was only barely able to maintain without causing her lungs to be completely drained. The maid moved swiftly from hallway to hallway, not even stopping to look down each hall, as if sprinting down a path that she had ran down many times before. Her brazenness however did not leave her free to pay no to mind to the other servants of the castle, no matter how determined she was to reach her destination, as when she saw a pair of maids walking down the hallway she was in from the border of her vision she slowed down and walked in a normal pace.
As they walked past each other she put on a great smile and happily waved at the two, getting a similar wave from both in return, none of them seeming to exchange a word towards each other. Although the eldest maid seemed to look at the disguised intruder with a hint of suspicion. Once they were twenty feet away she went back into her sprint, dashing with even more speed before she suddenly halted herself as she passed one particular door, tripping over her own feet as the laws of physics did not seem to like her sudden deceleration at al as she collapsed to the ground and rolled for a couple seconds.
Without taking even a second to catch her breath she picked herself up and ran to the door. lShe did not hold towels, nor food, nor any cleaning supplies, in fact she held nothing at all. Her arms barely swung back and fourth, doing her best to keep it to herself. At her stomping landed her exactly where she wanted to be, at the outer doors to a master bedroom. The young maid placed herself on the ground as she looked under the door to see no light except for that of the serene light that reflected off the moon. Obviously his majesty must be sleeping, she chuckled to herself ‘What a rookie mistake.’ She thinks to herself as an overconfident smirk grew on her face before she slowly cracked the door open wide enough for her thin frame to slip through.
The room she found herself in was dark, anything past a foot was barely visible to her yet as of now unadjusted eyes. She slowly crept forward towards the bed in an attempt to find her target, every step deliberate, every step silent as she made sure to balance herself and her weight. She slowly approached the bed and saw that something was definitely there, the vague silhouette of a figure sleeping. She took in a deep celebratory breath as she hyped herself up to action the target of her interest.
'Thank you, Karl.' Jorge thought to himself. While he may have ragged on his brother a lot for playing soldier, he was a damn master of hide and sneak because of his aspirations. In turn, Jorge had become quite adept at hiding himself. Let alone all the tricks he picked up from Is over the years.
Allowing the aforementioned woman to slip into his room, Jorge remained a shadow that waited next to his dresser. Many times in the years he had known Is, she was able to sneak up on his and his brothers. Not this time. There was only so many ways one could sneak into the castle, and his father had patched up several after Is' previous attempts.
'Time for some payback' Jorge thought as an evil smile crept across his face. Gliding like a shadow, he took two steps, then launched, practically tackling the girl, sending her airborne. The frightened girl would scream with all the air she had stored up in her lungs, sounding near exactly as if she was being murdered. The scream did not stop when she gained air via the tackle but only when she lightly bounced on the bed. "Hey there Auriel, Whacha doin?" He exclaimed triumphantly as he wrapped her in a bear hug, squeezing her tight as if she was a plush toy.
Despite how pointless it was the girl would struggle against the constraining hug. Slapping? Nope she was not even able to raise her arms as they were restrained to her body in the hug. Kicking? There was nothing to kick in front of her, only behind her. Seeming this as her only option she would start frantically kicking the knee of the Prince with her boot while being held up, however there were no promising results as Jorge remained strong through all this.
“You aren’t supposed to call me that, Jorge, let me go!” She exclaimed like a child as she pouted, embarrassment taking her face as she tried to then tried wiggle out of the hug, however this only led to her falling even deeper into his hug, unintentionally of course. Even after all these years she never found out how pointless it was to try to get Jorge to not call her by her birth name, instead hoping that one day he would see the reason in her words, what a foolish train of thought is it not?
Laughing maniacally, Jorge shouts "I caught you Schneehase!" He was about to say more as to rub salt in the girl's wounds when a pair of guards, along with a very tired looking Michael, comes bursting into the room, displeased looks on both of them as one of the guards turned his flashlight on for a brief second to illuminate the room to reveal what was going on. Seeing the scene, Michael is about to complain, but he stops short and dismisses both of the guards back to their regular duty posts. "Oh hey, you got her. Someone should take a picture." He says in a sarcastic celebratory tone. The girl was just about to demand to be let go again before the eldest brother barged in with two of the royal guard. Her face turns completely red with embarrassment as she stops struggling out of fear of looking too childish.
"Can you?" Jorge replies with excitement that was so strong it was like he was as a child opening up Christmas presents. Shrugging his shoulders, Michael pulls his phone out the pockets of his pajama pants. Upon Micheal shrugging she would yell. “I swear to me, Mickey if you-!” She gets cut off as the harsh light from the phone’s camera flash sends her into a temporary daze as she attempts to look away from the camera in frustration, as to deny the brothers a complete victory over her. Smiling wide Jorge can barely contain his laughter as the photo is taken. Leaving the room, Michael says
"Alright, you kids have fun now. But for god sakes, keep it down, will ya?” He requests as he flashes an evil smile to match Jorge's, before shutting door behind him, enveloping the room in darkness yet again.
Laughing even harder, Jorge release her from the bear hug, only to readjust and throw her in a headlock that barely did not crush her windpipe. Ruffling her hair, he says "I've waited a long time for this moment. So, what brings you around this time, Schneehase?" She would become even more pitiful once put in a headlock, desperately slapping Jorge’s arms and attempting to reach around to slap Jorge’s face, facing only failure as she yourlu complains ”This isn’t fun anymore, Jorge!” She complained mournfully as she struggled fruitlessly against the headlock, questioning “Is it so much to ask for me to visit the dear Brandts without getting assaulted?”
After getting a good look at her tomato red face, he says "Awww, what's the matter snow white? Don't like it when the shoes on the other foot? Well too bad! God victory has never tasted so sweet!" He is over joyed, and boasts a large smile across his face. She struggled further as Jorge pointed out her embarrassment. “I think you mean, ‘Mös, victory has never tasted so sweet’. Now let me go!!” Her voice cracks as she yells.
Still laughing at her state, Jorge would eventually relent, and release the girl. However, as one final juvenile act, he ensured her momentum would carry her to his bed once again, and cause her to fall into it. Standing triumphantly over her in a stance truly befitting a prince. On hearing Is' honorific title, he rolls his eyes, and helps her to her feet. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry your ladyship. Allow me to make it better" He gives a fake bow, and takes a pretend hat off his head. He then grabs her hand and pretends to kiss it, before standing upright.
She would light up like a Christmas tree as Jorge grabs her hands and pretends to kiss it. “Stop teasing me!” She says as she pulls back her hand "Pfft, all's fair in the games you play, Auriel." Immediately she would yell back “Stop calling me that Jorge, it’s taboo!” She says as she crosses her arms and subconsciously pouts, her eyes darting off to the darkest corner of the room. Scoffing, he replies "I refuse to refer to you as a god, and I'm also not referring to you as "Is". Or would you rather me come up with another nickname?"
“My name is my punishment to bear. It’s culturally inappropriate to refer to me as my grave name, especially since you are in the know.” She attempts to explain for the thousandth time this decade. Throwing his hands up, he replies "Still don't care, Elle. Your 'grave name' suits you well. It's befitting a girl of your status, not some punishment given out to you." Any onlooker would get the feeling the two have had this exact exchange on more than one occasion. “What is that supposed to mean?!?” A hint of anger overtook the girl at the disregard of her cultural standards. “How does that stupid name quote and quote fit me better?” She openly questioned. “Even Micky calls me Is!”
Giving her a warm smile, he says "Because, Elle, you're a strong and beautiful young woman. Is just doesn't illustrate who you are in my opinion. It didn't fit the nurse biting child and it doesn't fit you now. Auriel is a name more befitting the heir to a mighty nation such as Khoslol. Micky also eats his cereal dry, his opinion isn't valid." He says defiantly. The girl’s face would begin to normalize before she once again was the subject of bright pink overtaking her cheeks due to the compliments from the Prince, her eyes would dart away as she rubbed her arm. “Yo- you really-?” The girl seemed to be flushed with emotions as she inhaled deeply and tensed up, as her hands got super sensitive as she wiped away some stray strands of hair behind her ear, clearly overwhelmed from the Second Prince’s comment as she hugged onto herself as she gleefully eeked. After a couple seconds she would calm down and meekly attempt to drive away attention. “Yo- you don’t mean that, Jorge. . .” She says dismissively, attempting to keep herself in check as she pouts.
"So, were you just coming to check the castle's security measures out or was there something you needed?" The girl would bury her face in her hands as she buried her embarrassed face in it, sheepishly stating “I just wanted to check up on you guys, I was worried to death about you two when war broke out.” He ponders for a moment, rubbing his chin. Noting her embarrassment, he laughs "That sweet of you, We made it through ok, mostly."
It is clear through her muffled voice that she is choking up with tears as she barely manages to keep herself up. “I- I thought I was gonna lose you two. . .” An awkward silence hangs in the air, leaving the elephant in the room unsaid. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he says reassuringly "Hey, we made it, and the war is over. Not for a lack of trying on the Hun's part." Rummaging through his nightstand, he produces a bottle and says "This calls for cele-aw goddamnit empty? Why are they always empty?" She raises her head from her hand, attempting to rub the tears away on her sleeves. “You were always a drunkard, dear Jorge. You probably drank it all to go to sleep.”
Pretending to be hurt, he says "Hey. I'm no drunkard. Drunkards are slobs that have no class. I am the classiest motherfucker on this side of Eporan. Speaking of booze though, what's to say we ditch the castle and get into some trouble? For old times sake." He flashes a mischievous smile, and goes to grab some things to prepare to leave. “If you are the classiest man on this side of the continent I don’t think there is any hope left.” Immediately the girl would jump at the chance to spend even more time with Jorge, leaping from the carpeted floor, into the air, and back onto her feet. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” She said excitedly, still dressed as a maid. She would run over to Jorge and hug onto his arm tightly and lovingly, looking up at him with a sweet smile. “Where are we gonna go????”
Raising an eyebrow at her sudden turn around, he'd say "I know a good bar. Not too far. Should be able to get into it fairly incognito. Unless you have a better idea. . . " “I don't, so let's go now! It can be just as fun as old times!” She exclaimed excitedly. Looking her up and down he adds "but not looking like that." He says gesturing to the maid outfit "You have no right to talk about class-" He puts her in another headlock "When you look like this. There's gotta be something you can change into around here somewhere." What confidence she had would start to drain as she as a frown grew on her face* “Wha-.” She would once again be caught off by the actions of Jorge, struggling even harder than last time. “Bu- but I don’t have anything!” She attempts to explain as doesn’t not listen to her response, he drags her off.
Dragging the unwilling girl through the halls, he eventually stops in front of a door. above it on a plaque it says 'maid quarters'. banging on the door multiple times with his free hand he says
"Hey, open up. Need a favor." There is the sound of shuffling feet, and then the door opens slightly, with a very tired maid's head poking out from the crack in the door. She sleepily says "Young master? You're not trying to sneak out again are you? You know-" Cutting her off, he says "Yeah yeah, i know. I need to borrow clothes for this one" He says holding the girl up, still locked in a headlock. "I can make it worth your while-" This time, he is cut off when the girl squeals "I know the perfect thing for her!" grabbing her by the hand, she is dragged into the room. Inside, is a rather spacious quarters that resembles more of an apartment than anything. Quickly, Is is handed a bunch of clothes, pointed to a private area, and encouraged to try them on.
As the struggling girl would be released from the headlock and dropped onto the floor on her feet, she barely found time to catch her breath before she got dragged into the dark abyss of the room, knowing that her pleas and objections would be add useless as speaking in her mother tongue she was as limp as a noddle. She would meekly take the clothes handed to her before sheepishly walking to the private area.
It took a couple minutes before the girl emerged, wearing a short black dress. It was clear that she was not used to anything that didn’t cover her up from head to ankle as she seemed to pull the skirt of the dress down as she embarrassingly tried to cover up as much of herself as possible, ashamedly coming out. “I- I don’t think it fits, it’s so short.” She nervously said before the maid grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her to the exit.
“Nonsense, young miss! It fits rather perfectly and you look stunning in it.” The girl’s face would only grow redder as the door was opened and she was pushed out, her face revealing she was rather embarrassed about what she was put into. Beaming as she steps out of the room, Jorge says "You look good, Elle, now c'mon, before the guards get wise.” Taking off, without waiting her, he turns over his shoulder, he calls "last one out of the castle buys the first round" The girl would immediately dart after the prince “Hey wait up!”
November 4th, 2013
The motorcade carrying the prince rumbled up to the hospital, consisting of solely military vehicles painted black. Guard presence at the hospital today is tripled, with most visible kitted out with the latest and greatest personal equipment. A helicopter circles overhead, and far up in the sky, unseen lies an MQ-9. Jorge is not allowed to appreciate the sight of all the security present, as he is quickly whisked into the safety of the hospital. Escorting him to the victim's room are several office agents kitted out for low visibility operations, along with Agent Fischer. Getting curious on the way there, he asks "So, if the best of the office can't get a child to talk, we're kinda fucked if you had to interrogate a real captive no?"
Scoffing at the question, but playing it off as a laugh, Fischer replies "Your majesty, our normal interrogation techniques wouldn't be fitting for a child, and besides, she's the victim. Consider this more of an interview, practice for when you're out there interacting with diplomats from across the world." Nodding his head unconvinced, he shrugs and says "I'll try my best. I'm really just here to make sure she's gotten the proper treatment. And to finally get out of the castle."
Not wanting to put up with his childish antics any longer, Fischer says, highly passive aggressive
"You know your majesty, if you don't think you'll be any help, we can always return you to the castle, and tell your father of your performance."
Jorge gives the man a death glare, but says nothing further. Getting to the door, Fischer goes to knock on it when he notices it's slightly ajar. Pushing it open reveals an empty room "Sonofa bitch." He says to himself. The guard in charge of watching the door is also nowhere in sight. Speaking into a small handheld radio, Fishcer would say "Fischer to all elements, Lambda is loose. I say again, Lambda is loose"
Banging on the side of the door, he curses angrily, while Jorge looks on with mild bemusement "You lost a child? In your own facility? Pfft." Giving the boy a death glare, he says to the accompanying guards "Stay here with the prince, I'll go after the girl"
The girl would be hidden in the doorway leading to another room on the third floor on the opposite side of the building, keeping her hand on her mouth as to keep her breathing muffled as the guard in charge of protecting her runs down the hall, looking for her, passing her as she takes a sharp turn in his quest to find her. After half a dozen seconds she would release her hold on herself and slowly step back in the hallway, silently running the way that she came from, looking at all of the rooms that she had passed by during the chase. Curiosity overwhelmed her as she began peeking into the rooms, her small arms quietly pulling up a door as she half hazardously entered.
Meanwhile, as the girl explores, she finds more hospital rooms similar to her own. However the last door she checked was different, expecting another hospital room, a grizzly site is revealed. The room looks to be an 'interrogation' chamber. With a hospital bed being replaced by a gurney, and a host of 'medical' tools that look like they would be highly improper to use. Below the gurney, lies a large reddish brown stain, faded with time. It's clearly not human feces, which only leads to one other conclusion. Footsteps begin to ring out across the hospital, as doors are shut and guarded to prevent the girl from escaping. Footsteps looking for the girl double, and it sounds like some are closeby.
The girl would let out a terrified screech upon realizing what she has walked in on. Immediately she would dart out of the room and into the hallway, sprinting down the hallway in a speed previously thought to be impossible for the girl, not even looking where she was going or if anyone was nearby she would keep sprinting until came at a intersection, keeping her momentum as she kept right. Hearing the yell, a call would come over the radio "This is Fog-3, we got her on our floor, moving to intercept" As the girl runs with reckless abandon an OIA goon rounds the corner, she promptly runs into him, with the collision sending her on her backside. Quickly picking her up, the man says "Alright, that's enough of that. Time to get you back to your room"
The girl would be dazed for several seconds and lasting some time into her being picked up. Eventually she came and began to panic about her situation with her new found knowledge of what was happening at this hospital. Immediately she would begin smacking the goon over the head repeatedly as she yelled in Galvarian. “Let me down!” Grunting, the man would switch the way he's carrying the girl, and place her under the arm, almost like a football. Grabbing his radio with a free hand he says "Call it off, I got her." As they make their way back to the room, Fischer comes back, and says to Jorge. "Your highness, you can be of great use to us at this moment, I'm going to ask you to step into a side room." Shrugging, Jorge enters the room across from the girl’s room and closes the door. Just in time for the victim to round the corner with her captor, making a fuss the entire way. The goon brings her into the room, and Fischer enters behind him. The guard then places Is down on the bed, and Fischer says "Now I thought you promised me you'd be nicer to my staff?"
“This isn’t hospital, it is blood temple!” The girl would exclaim angrily in her broken Galvarian, attempting to jump out of the bed and back onto her feet so she can have some of her own urgency. She broke away to get some distance from the men, clearly angry as she clenched her fist, on edge. Not letting her get too far, the office goon picks her up by the scruff of her shirt that was part of the set of baggy clothes she was loaned, and holds her at arm's length. The girl would immediately start smacking the agent’s hand as he grabs her by the shirt, annoyed and angry. Fischer frowns, and says to himself "Blood temple? Never heard that one before" Giving the girl a disapproving look, he says "You know, I made good on my word. Got the prince to show up today, but your stunt scared him away"
Suddenly the girl’s face would drain as she would begin tearing up slowly, not saying anything as any resistance came crumbling down. She would sadly go to her bed and slam her face into it, defeated. Glad that the girl was finally cooperating, he asked a question, attempting to hide the triumphant glee in his voice "Can you promise me you wont try running off again?" Nothing would come from the girl for several seconds before a very muffled and sound voice came from her. “What’s the point?” Smiling, the man says "It'll have to do."
Calling over his shoulder he says "Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind." Walking into the room comes a boy with dark brown hair, cut into a messy comb over. His hair looks like it's in dire need of cutting, because it looks slightly longer than it should be. Instead of some traditional royal attire, he wears a pair of khaki pants with a blue button down shirt. Scratching the back of his neck, he says "Was that really needed?" Looking to the girl he says "Well your doing well enough to give the office a run for its money, so that's a good sign. Pun intended.” Fischer gives him an exasperated look, and Jorge adds nervously "Ah, where are my manners?" He takes a half bow, clearly trained heavily in etiquette, and finishes with "Jorge Brandt, second in line to the throne, what's your name?"
The girl remained unmoving until she heard the agent’s request for the prince to enter. Immediately she springed up with tears still in her eyes, her eyes becoming transfixed on him as her cheeks became like that of cherries. The entire world would seem to collapse and become numb around her, only seeing the Prince and only hearing the Prince. Her breathing climbed to a rapid and excited rate as she looked as gleeful as anyone in the country has ever seen her. Her mouth was ajar as she just stood there stunned as the Prince introduced himself and requested her name. She would shake her head feverishly as to bring herself back to reality, attempting to respond but failing in any and all regards. “I- um- I. I- I I.” The girl stammered on the same word repeatedly as her voice cracked as she excitedly asked. “A- are you a real prince???”
Cocking his head to one side. He looks between Fischer and the girl. "O-K. See what you mean now. Unorthodox, got it." he says to Fischer. Seeing an opportunity to get the girl talking, Fischer motions to the guard to leave the room, following him after saying "I think we oughta let you two talk. We'll be outside." Jorge goes to voice a complaint but it's left on deaf ears as the agent walks out of the room. Addressing the girls question, he says "Yes. Yes I am. Son of Albert Brandt, King of Galavaria. Great Grandson to Erich Brandt, first of the line." It seems as though he's recited this line 1000 times, his next question feels far more natural however.
"I'm sorry but I didn't catch you name. Can you tell me your name?"
The girl would let out a gleeful squeal as within a second she was upon the prince, before he knew it the girl would be clingy hugging onto the princely tightly, excitedly exclaiming. “I always wanted to meet a real prince! I wish I was a real princess!” She said while burying her face into the shirt of the Prince, taking in a deep breath as it seems that her greatest wish as a girl was given to her all in one moment. After getting the wind knocked out of him by a child throwing themselves at him, Jorge would attempt to pry her off of him, gently. A guard pokes his head into the room. Jorge gives him an ok sign, and the look on his face gets the guard to chuckle before removing himself. "Uh...Well now you have?" Confused, he thinks to himself 'and they had problems getting her to talk?' Composing himself, he gives the girl a light pat on the back before finishing removing her from the death grip hug. Confusion still palpably on his face, he says "You know a conversation's pretty one sided when you don't even know the other person's name."
The girl’s joy would begin to rapidly drain out of her as she felt the prince begin to detach the girl from himself. With this new found evidence her self esteem would plummet. She would look at him, not with the same look as before, instead looking at him with a dangerous mixture of shame, confusion, and despair. “Wha-.” She would mutter in complete and utter confusion as she was completely removed from her hug. A pained expression would paint itself on the young girl’s face as tears now began to stream down her face, unsure why such a gracious hero would remove himself from her embrace. She sniffled heavily as tears blocked her vision as she stepped back away from the prince, her eyes calling to the floor in complete and utter shame, barely managing to say. “I- I- I don’t like- like my name. . . It not ni-ce name, mean name.”*She stepped back enough that she hit the frame of the bed, hugging herself with both of her arms to give herself some small bit of comfort as she attempted to stop herself from sobbing.
Slapping his had to his head, he says to himself "man, screwin this up already.” shaking his head, he crouches down to get eye level with the girl. Putting on his best smile, he says "Hey, there's no need to cry. I'm sure you have a very nice name." The girl would refuse to look at the Prince, too ashamed and too scared to have her hopes and dreams dashed twice in the same day. She would begin to audibly cry more when he implied that she has a very nice name. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he says "Well, if you don't wanna tell me your name, I suppose I gotta make one up till I learn it." Standing up, he rubs his chin "How about..Aha! Schneehase! I think it fits you perfectly." Flinching heavily and looking up at him with fear in her eyes as she feels his hand on her shoulder, upon this her sobbing would stop and no new tears would come. Upon being crowned a new name she would look off to the side, dismissively. “I am no rabbit. . .”
'Well, you made a child cry. Congrats asshole' Jorge thinks to himself before giving an exasperated sigh, he sits on the hospital bed, and frowns. 'She has a much better grasp of the language then I was told. Good, I didn't wanna have to do all this in Kanakadorikan.' He thinks to himself "You don't like it? I thought it was clever." he says pouting, getting an idea in his head, he makes a show of struggling and says "Well since I don't know your name I'll just have to refer to you as Schneehase for now. And I for one, think it fits. You're pale like the hares up in the mountains, and have a tendency to run away I hear."
The girl would seem to be hurt about how all he seemed to care about in the moment was the fact that she was as pale as the snow and that she had a tendency for running away, thusly the pained expression would remain as she looked up at the Prince that was now sitting on her bed as she still remained planted on the ground. As Jorge’s expectations seemed to not be matched so would the girl’s as she looked at him as if she was expecting something, not very much amused with the Prince so far. “I thought Princes were supposed to be nice and not tease people. . .” She muttered to herself in a bit better Galvarian.
Realizing he was getting no where, he decides to switch up his tactics. Gently as possible, he says "You know, Agent Fischer said you really wanted to meet me. Did you have anything you wanted to know? Not every day you get a private audience with a prince. I'll be very forthcoming with my answers, but you gotta promise to answer some of my questions, ok?” She immediately asked, confused in tone as she dodged the question on if she would actually answer back his questions or not, skipping immediately to what she wanted to ask. “Why did you help me?”
Chuckling at the girl's mumblings, he says
"And usually, subjects of the kingdom have the common courtesy to greet royalty properly" The girl’s voice would become somewhat annoyed as she said in a tiny fit of anger.* “I am not one of your subjects. . .”
Laughing at the thought he says “But nah, I don't want that, what I'd like truly is to get to know you, I've been very worried." He says giving her a warm smile “Why don't you take a seat up on the bed with me, it's more comfortable then the floor. Need a hand getting up here?" He extends a hand. The warm smile displayed towards her would send her heart fluttering, asking in a cautious and scared tone;unsure on if it would be safe to take the prince at his word or not, especially after he took her expectations behind the barn and shot it in cold blood. “Wha- do- do you mean that?” She asked as she attempted to keep her excitement from making itself too apparent. The blush that had faded flooded back into her as she extended his hand towards her. Her eyes would be overcome with joy as she would take his hand, her light frame making her exceptionally easy to pull up.
Happy to have some progress, he ignores the blatant lack of a response, and says happily
"Well first-" Pulling her up, he guides her to sit down near the headboard. "There we go. As for why I helped you? Why wouldn't I? You were hurt bad, and my guards are what drove that man away. As for not being a subject, what do you mean? Where are you from?" Once pulled up the girl would happily sit down as close to the Prince as she could, clearly enjoying just being near her. She kept both of her hands on her lap ever so respectfully as she kept her eyes on her hands. She used every ounce of her self control as to not stop herself from wrapping her arms on the prince, shaking slightly out of nervousness. “Does that matter? I will be leaving soon.” She stated with complete seriousness in her tone.
Tilting his head to one side in confusion, he says "Well yeah it matters. How else are we gonna get you back to your family if we don't know where they are?" studying her intently, confusion written on his face, he adds "How exactly do you plan on getting anywhere? Actually, nevermind. I think you should stay here until we can deal with the man that hurt you, then we can see about getting you home." The girl would look back at him in complete and utter confusion. “Family?” She looks at him with utter disbelief for a few seconds before a smile comes across her face. “Oh, there is no need to worry about that, they aren’t even worried!” She says, attempting to not make the prince worry. “There is no need to worry about me, I’ll be out of your hair soon.”
Laughing at the absurdity of the situation, he says "Out of my hair? I don't understand. How can your family not be worried, shot by some monster and left to die on the streets of a foreign nation." once again subtle anger slips into his voice, but rapidly fades like a tide to shore. "Now you need to understand, you aren't a burden to us, and we are going to catch the bad man. And I want you to stay here, where its safe, until you do." Saying that last part loud enough that Agent Fischer could hear, he poked his head into the room and said "We're on it. The bad man won't have many places to hide. All the people you see here are here to protect you, and hunt the bad man." Without waiting for a reply, he left again, as his cell phone started to ring.
She only smiled at Jorge’s adamantly claiming that they would find the shooter, only responding verbally when he was done on that tangent. “No need to! You won’t find him anyways.” She says, her joyous tone still remains even when speaking of the man, seeming to be happy for as long as she was near the prince. “It’s not really something they should or do worry themselves with, you know?” She asked, hoping that the prince could understand the meaning behind her words.
Noting the girl's fragile emotional state, along with her rosy cheeks, he smiles, and says "Yes, I do. It was quite scary to see that man hurt you, especially with you being so young. How could someone do something like that?" A bit of anger creeps into his voice, and his question is seemingly asked to no one. Upon the Prince’s admittance the girl would become even more flustered, focusing more so on him seeming to care about her than his anger on the action that was taken against her, only to manage to get out a couple words. “You’re nice. . .” She said meekly. Beaming now that the girl was starting to relax, he put on a fake pout "I have my moments." Suppressing a chuckle at the girl's easily flustered nature, he adds "I still think Schneehase is a great name, you even have little red cheeks like those snow hares have noses. Think of it like a title, or a codename, given to you by royalty. That is unless you'll tell me your real name"
She would embarrassingly look off to the side of the room, attempting to hide her ever constantly red cheeks from the majesty of the Prince, happily asking. “Oh! So like how I used to have a secret identity when I was younger?” Smiling at how similar she sounded to his younger brother when talking about secret identities, he asked, rather amused "Something like that Schneehase, what was your secret identity? If I'm allowed to know" She would pipe up “Of course you’re allowed to know! Well, whenever I’m out with my sisters they tell people I am someone else’s daughter! Y’know, they wanna keep it extra secret so they act confused and mad when I call them sisters even when it’s just us!” She said excitedly as if she was speaking of a game. Jorge takes a moment to process the information. He opens and closes his mouth several times, before saying. "They wouldn't treat you like a sister? Tell me, what other kinds of games would they play with you?" 'Jesus Christ, this kid bats 1000 at the game of life' He thinks to himself.
The girl looks just a little bit sad as she answers his question. “Um. . . well. .” She would push her fingers together as she tried to think. “We- um. . they always say they were too busy to play with me. . .” She said with sorrow in her voice before piping back up. “But that was two years ago when I last saw them, I’m sure they are more willing to play with me now!” She exclaimed with confidence while smiling greatly. “I. . I really hope they like me! I really really like them! I always wanted to play with them and to call me sister and do family stuff!” She said with genuine hope before she looked up at Jorge. “What is your family like?” She asked excitedly. His mouth falls open "I-" he seems genuinely at a loss for words. He gives the girl a look of great pity. Deciding to leave that alone for now, he answers the girl's question "Well, I have two brothers. A younger brother named Karl, who's about your age actually. He's adventurous, and doesn't seem to fear anything. Kind of oblivious though. Then there's my older brother, Michael. He's the air to the throne so he spends most of his time studying hard to fill, my dad, the king's shoes. He's a bit stuck up, and kinda shut in, but I know he means well."
“Are they nice to you? What is your father like? Is he nice? Is he a good father?” The girl asked with great excitement, seeming really transfixed on the king, his father. “They sound like nice people! Are they as nice as you?” She seemed to not even give half a second for the Prince to answer before she asked her second set of questions. Clearing his throat, he says "Yes, I'd say we all get along just fine. We joke with each other a lot, and some days we can get on each others nerves, but in the end we're still brothers. My dad, ha. Right." The truth was he and his father hadn't seen eye to eye in a few years. What with his, as his father would call it, 'rebellious' streak. It's not like he'd tell a stranger that, let alone a child. "My dad is a stern man, but he cares about us deeply. Yeah, I'd say he's been a good father, but I've only ever had the one you know?" He eyes her with a mix of suspicion and sadness, slowly putting together the non existent home life the girl has.
“Wow! I bet you guys play with each other all the time!” She says as she takes the time to imagine the scenario itself, only plastering an even bigger smile on her face at such a thought. At the Prince’s reaffirming question she would shake her head rapidly to signal she did not “I don’t really know. . . but your father sounds really nice! I wish I could have met my father! Sisters for some reason keep trying to tell me dad wasn’t my father like he was to them, they have really weird jokes, and they never really seemed to laugh after saying it. Do your siblings do weird jokes like that too?” She says, genuinely confused but curious about how other family dynamics worked.
Returning to being concerned with her adamant denial that they won't catch the shooter. Taking another long pause, and giving the girl a concerned look. "You know agent Fischer right? Well he works for a government group that's very, very good at catching bad people. I'm gonna make sure he's gonna catch the bad man. I promise you, that-" he to stop himself short from saying 'bastard', and instead replaced it with
"-bad man won't bother you after we find him."
A bit of pride seeps into Jorge's voice. As if to punctuate his point, a helicopter passed by the hospital. A look of concern was on her face as Jorge talked. “If you say so. . .” She said while scratching the back of her head, clearly not holding the same confidence as the Prince. “Why do you call him a bad man?” She asked while tilting her head. Noting her disbelief, and vowing to put some pressure on his dad to pressure the OIA to get this right, he says "Because he hurt you, and that's not something we like in this country." He struggles to find the right words that a child would understand, and it shows.
Her confused smile remained as she explained. “Oh, but like, I deserve it(?).” Her statement seemed almost like a question as she gleefully looked up at Jorge. At the last girl's sentence, he snaps "No! No you don't! The only one that deserves a bullet are the ones that condemned you to this fate!" he yells, and immediately regrets it. "There is very little you could have done in your life that could have you deserve such treatment" he says much quieter. The girl would become shaken by the sudden yelling, scrunching up, unsure if she had said something wrong to anger the Prince. “Sss- sorry, your highness.” She said with fear in her voice. Upon his last statement she would look off to the side, as if wanting to say something but not entirely sure if she should or not. “What would you consider the very little?”
Her statements would only add to his anger, and it shows. However he fights it down, and says, in as gentle a voice as could be mustered given his aggravation "Nothing you are capable of." Seeing that his anger was scaring the girl, he quickly lost most of his fire, and it was replaced with sorrow
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I-" He is cut off by Agent Fischer, who walks into the room "I think that's enough for now, your majesty. You're a little heated, and I don't want you upsetting the victim. Let's take a walk." He says in his usual business like manner. The girl’s face would grow worried as the thought of Jorge leaving her hung over her like a pendulum. “But I’m not upset. . .” She would try to explain, her tone not really selling it as she did seem scared as she looked up at both Jorge and Fischer.
Running his hand through his hair, Jorge says
"I'll be back. Don't you worry." Leading him outside the room, and down the hall, Agent Fischer says "Well, I'll be damned. You got her talking, when several days of us doing it couldn't. Well done your majesty. I think we may call you back if she starts to prove to be unresponsive again." Stiffing, Jorge asks, seemingly knowing the answer “You only wanted me to get her talking, you had no intention of involving me on the case. Did you?" Giving him a business smile, Agent Fischer replies "OIA has it under control, your majesty, I wouldn't worry about it." Jorge stops walking, and reaches into his shirt, and pulls out a necklace with the royal seal on it. "See this, Agent Fischer? This means I'm on the case. Benefit to you is I'm going to tell my father to write you a blank check for as long as I'm a part of this. So, do you think we can work together?" He says, extending a hand. Studying him intensely, Fischer would hesitate for a moment, before saying "Your terms are fair young master Brandt. I will ask that you coordinate all your actions with me, as bringing you here is quite the security risk."
Khaw & Keaa- Moderator
- Posts : 28
Join date : 2020-02-07
The Past and Future
Varbrook
Sometime after the 2022 Galavarian-Ninhundland War
Sneaking out of the castle, and using their joint expertise to evade the eyes of Jorge’s personal security detail, the streets of Varbrook lie open to the pair of renegades. Walking down side streets, they avoid the traditional Varbrook bar scene, which is overflowing with patrons this time of night. Instead, Jorge leads the pair to a relatively quiet street some six blocks from the Office of Internal Affairs HQ. Sitting on the corner is a small pub that looks older, and out of place next to some of the more modern buildings that make up this section of the city. The name above the bar, etched into a worn wooden sign above the main entrance says ‘Gertrude’s Pub’. The bouncer on the door gives Jorge a nod as he passes, a wordless agreement to the two. Inside the bar, the inside matches the outside. It is modeled to look like a pub from a forgotten time, or it simply never underwent a serious renovation and is simply that old. Only two figures sit at the bar, with a handful more sitting at tables that line the walls of the establishment. They look up from their drinks, but quickly go back to them when they see who it is. The barkeep, an old man with a well trimmed gray beard that goes past his chin, and a pair of spectacles, gives a polite nod to the pair, and says.
“Ah, I was wondering when you come back round. I see you’ve brought a friend.”
Not breaking stride, Jorge walks up to the bar, and replies sarcastically
“You know it’s because you serve the best chicken wings this side of Eporan.”
Chuckling to himself he says, eyeing Elle with curiosity.
“I’m sure, so what will it be then, the usual? And how about your lady friend here?
“Yeah, and something weak for her”
Jorge responds quickly, to prevent Elle from ordering for herself. Pulling a chair out for her, he says
“Not exactly the picture of the Varbrook bar scene, but I thought you’d appreciate the privacy more.”
While they talk, the barkeep puts a bottle of whiskey on the table, with two glasses. Jorge’s glass gets filled with nothing but whiskey. Elle’s drink gets filled with not nearly as much whiskey, and is cut with ginger ale and plenty of ice.
With a flustered pout and an annoyed gaze the girl would meekly take the seat that was presented to her, keeping her legs together as she is clearly embarrassed at her outfit, leaving a hand to cover her chest half hazardously. She would not respond to Jorge’s comments, sheepishly waiting for her drink and then back to Jorge, bemoaning in a barely audible tone.“I am not a child, Jorge. . .”
Giving a dismissive wave, he responds
“I know, I know. I forget sometimes. Being protective a bad habit I picked up from Michael”
He says with a mischievous grin. Noting the girl’s embarrassment, he looks around the bar and says
“Ain’t none but us here really Elle. This place is where all the intel agency guys go to talk shop, so it's all tight lips here.”
Taking a swig of his drink, he relishes the burn of the booze for a moment, before taking her hand and moving it away from her chest. Saying as he did so
“You have nothing to fear. Let alone the bouncer knocking someone’s teeth in for giving me a stink eye, I’ll personally bury any gawkers. And if you're worried about the way you look, don’t. You look great”
“I’ll have to take your word on it.” She says as she sighs and places her chin on the table as she stares at her drink, something obviously on her mind.“I feel exposed. I don’t know how your servants can wear such things in their free time while still maintaining their dignity.”
Giving Elle a soft smile, and throwing up his hands, he says
“It’s what's fashionable. Maybe not something we’d walk around in day to day, but hey, keeps us incognito. Your dignity remains intact. Nevermind the girl who threatened to bite nurses at the age of nine talking about dignity.”
She finally raises her head and takes a sizable sip out of it before she seems to painfully swallow it, coughing for a second before it all goes down. “You are just saying that to say that, your majesty.” She says with a hidden blush.
Taking a sip of his drink, he waves his hand, and cringes as he clearly drank too much and tries to respond too quickly.
“Ech. What's with the ‘your majesty’ crap. I got a first name, and I’d appreciate hearing it sometimes.”
“If you say so. You people are rather strange.” She says while unconsciously taking a sip from her drink.“I don’t know what I did nine years ago has to do with this.” She says dismissively. “We can’t have everything we want in life. . . your majesty.” She says with a light hearted smile and her tone being that of teasing, knowing he disliked it.
He smiles, letting go of her hand and receives a package from the bartender. It is a crumpled up paper bag with some loose string tying it closed. Quickly tearing it away, he hides the contents in his belt. A flash of chrome is all that was visible. Giving you a wink, he says
“Can’t be too careful. Anyway, you never answered me before Schneehase, what brings this visit?”
“I already told you, I came to see you guys. I didn’t visit as much as I wanted before the war and I guess that put some things into perspective for me.” She says before taking another sip, this time able to drink it without having a coughing fit. “But if you must know, some asshole opened up the file on the Marigold Street Case. I receive an automated email whenever that happens.”
Laughing loudly and banging his fist on the bar, at her added reason for visiting he says
“Ha! I knew it. Well it's probably the new director looking into you coming in and out of the country. Karl may have tipped him off after the little stunt you pulled with him.”
“Poor fool doesn’t even know he is breaking like three different laws just by investigating it. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.” She said, very much so annoyed that someone was unknowingly digging into her past
Realizing something more might be wrong, he leaned across the bar, and whispered something to the barkeep. Nodding his head, and taking the large wad of bills he slid across the bar, the barkeep walks away, taking the two other patrons at the bar with them. Turning to Elle, he says
“Normally, I’d rag on you harder for being right about not coming here just to see me. And believe me, that comes later. But-”
He leans in and drops his voice down slightly lower
“Is there something on your mind?”
A small concerned look draws on her face as he sends the bartender away, even more so when he leans in. With a deadpan look she would turn to him and stare him straight in the eyes, taking her breath, clearly going to say something, before she poked his nose. “It’s not something you should concern yourself with.” She says in a gleeful tone as it is clear she is already intoxicated. Being taken aback by the nose poke, he laughs, his own drink starting to take effect.
Finishing his first drink, he pours out a second with the bottle the barkeep left them. He goes to say something about her snark, but decides against it, deciding instead to refill her glass, a little stiffer this time. Taking another swig, and getting serious for a moment, he says
“Say the word, and I can have them close the file up. It'll leave my footprint on it though.
Immediately the girl would take another sip, then another after that, shaking her head fervently. “No, no, no, no, no. That would only make them curious, just gotta hope they drown in all the paperwork.”
“I’m worried is all Elle, you don't seem like yourself. you're basically one of the family, and we take care of our own. It also helps that the intel you provided during the war was something else.”He says, with a edge of genuine concern edging into his upbeat tone
“Whattttttt do you mean?~” She says in a loving tone why looking lovingly into his eyes, a blush taking her. “I think you are the one acting weird.” She would take another sip before she leans onto him, nuzzling into him.
Realizing she was getting drunk quick, and now may be the best time to get information out of her, he allows her to lean into him, and give her a short hug, before saying
“I know when you're throwing up walls Elle. You know, you're like the sister I never had. You can talk to me.”
Immediately Jorge would feel the girl tense up, not a sound coming from her for several seconds, not even the sound of breathing. She looks up at him, her eyes showing she is scared. “Wh- what do you mean?” Her voice shaky as she attempts to maintain her composure.
“Well I’ve known you since you were a little kid. I know geopolitics would never allow it to make it official, but here.”
He reaches into his pocket and produces an official Galavarian seal. It looks slightly different from the ones she’s seen the brothers use. It bears an inscription in old Latin, saying Non Sanguinis - soror veri spiritus (Not by blood, sister of true spirit). Seals are carried by members of the royal family, as an old tradition to signify who they were and codify anything they wrote. To date, there has never been a modern instance where someone outside of Galavaria has received such a seal
“Had to beg my parents for ages for this, but I finally got it. You're one of the family, Elle.”
Her exhausted eyes would stare deeply at the seal with confusion, blinking rapidly as tears begin to formulate. “I- I don’t understand. .” Her voice had no other tone to it than a deep and complete confusion.
Taking a moment to collect his own thoughts, and put the drink down, he says
“Well, you always told me how shit your own family treats you. And you were always coming around to ours, so I figured, why not make it official. This marks you as one of the family, Elle”
He goes to deposit the seal in her hands. It looks like a ring, with the words on the top and bottom of the face, and the Galavarian Lion emblazoned in between them. For women, this was the standard, to be worn on the right hand opposite from their wedding ring, or to be turned into some form of necklace.
She would look off to the side as she grip encloses on the seal as she squeezes it tightly as she remembered the last time she received a ring. “They are just distant is all. . .” She says, completely excusing the actions of her kin as she attempts to process what is happening. Without looking she puts in on her right hand before beginning to rub the engagement ring on her left hand. “When are you gonna marry me. . . ?” She questions while her eyes continue to remain astray
“Marry, wha-”
An epiphany comes to his face. As if he realized a thousand unconnected events were all suddenly connected.
“Elle it ain't like that. I love you like family, like your of my blood. Marriage-”
He struggles to find the right words, and curses himself silently for choosing whiskey.
“Marriage is a different kind of love. But in the end, they are both of the same emotion.”
He smiles, but behind the smile is deep concern. He is slowly coming to realize he’s deeply upset her, and regret is welling up inside him. He fights it down, with difficulty.
Her face immediately is stricken with pain as tears begin to form silently as she attempts to try to understand what the prince is trying to convey. Suddenly she latches onto him, hugging very tightly. As she looks up back at him she seems to compose herself enough for a genuine smile. “Yeah, but II love you!” She exclaims from the bottom of her heart. “And if I love you and you love me why can’t we get married?”
In a surprise move, he returned the hug. Moving her so she could still be latched on, but he could look at her face, he says
“Because I hold the same love in my heart for you, as I do for my brothers. You wouldn’t marry your sisters right?”
Thinking for a moment, he says
“I understand this must be something new for you, as those monsters you call a family never showed you the kind of love I’m talking about.”
His jaw locks, and anger comes to his face, before it's quickly replaced by sorrow
“That's why I want you to have this, to know what it's like to have a family. A real one, that stands by you.”
“If they wanted to why would I refuse?” She says without a single second to think, it being her first thought. Clearly the alcohol making her honest, with all the pitfalls that come with it. She squints at him before sheepishly letting her head fall back into his chest, sleepy. “Please don’t call them such uncourteous, they will be your in laws after all.” She says as she attempts to get him to reciprocate her nuzzles, as she tries her best to not pay attention to his words. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he forces her eyes to meet his own.
“Elle, are you sure you understand what marriage is? It’s not something you do with just anybody. I don’t want to marry you, I want you to become a part of my family. Micheal, hell even Karl feels the same way. Blood, in all but name.”
He looks sad that she is not getting in, and deep down his blood boils at the ‘in-laws’ Elle previously mentioned.
At the sudden forced eye contact it is clear that she is scared, her shaking becoming uncontrollable as his words taunt her. The world seems to come to a crawl around her as she whispers “Bu- but I love you. . .” Her breathing begins at a heightened rate as she repeats. “But I love you!” She cries as her eyes flood with tears. She attempts to throw herself back into the hug fully as she painfully sobs
He allows her to throw herself onto him, and returns the hug. "I know, Elle, I know. Welcome to the family." He says, patting her back softly "I wanna go home" She mumbles into his shirt. "Yeah, lets get you home." He says, his own eyes watering slightly. Giving a half wave to the barkeep, he wraps his arm around Elle and starts to get them out of the pub.
November 11th, 2013
H. Wolf Memorial hospital
In the week since the prince visited, the joint task force had turned up nothing in regards to a shooter. The only thing they had gleaned from their patient was that she led a sad home life, and was very keen on avoiding questions. In the interim, she has been cared for by her two nurses, Charlie and Karla. The child took more to Karla instantly, and even then refused to open up. It seems as though the only person she’d speak to in any detail was Prince Jorge. Unfortunately, he had been wrapped up in training outside of the city, his way of working off his father’s grounding so he could be more present on the case. What he didn’t know was that this was his father’s way of removing him from the case, to keep him out of danger. At the hospital, Karla was busy finishing up a final physical exam with the mystery child. She had asked, and surprisingly been approved to take the child outside the hospital to buy her a stuffed animal, as a reward. She would still have to remain at the hospital until the threat of the shooter is over, but more and more people high up in Galavarian politics were beginning to assume the threat was over. In a desperate bid, Agent Fischer approved Karla’s outing as bait. While it ate him up inside, using the pair as bait to lure the shooter out, he was running out of options, and the task force had been formally threatened with dissolution if they didn’t come up with hard evidence. As a precaution, he had an MQ-9 shadowing the pair along with an RQ-170 surveying the area around them. On the ground, they were consistently surrounded by agents from both intel agencies in low visibility kits. Nestled into the high rises around the targets were several sniper teams, keeping a lookout on potential locations. On standby, Fischer and a SAT team waited should they need to come in guns blazing. Finishing up the physical, Karla says to the girl
“Well it looks like you’ve recovered quite well, young one. Along with that good news I have a surprise for you!”
Taking out a sheet of paper she hands it to the child, it is an advertisement for various animal plushie’s at a toy store chain.
“We’re gonna get you a present for finishing up your treatments and being a good patient!”
The girl’s bored expression would instantly light up to that of excitement and curiosity as her wandering eyes immediately affixed on the nurse as she tilted her head slightly. Her small hands would grasp onto the paper in excitement as she fervently read through it. With a sweet but concerned smile her eyes reverted to Karla, her voice cracking as she sought confirmation. “Really???”
Giving a warm smile, she says
“Yes! Come quick child, I can take you.”
The child did not let another second pass before she sprung from the hospital bed and onto her feet, running to go slip on her shoes. Once secured she would run back to Karla and hug onto her arm. Leading her to an unmarked up armored Humvee, that resembles more of a transport meant for war than for the streets of the capital, she opens the door and gives a nervous laugh
“Can’t be too careful, we want to make sure the bad man can’t get you.”
The girl would seem unphased by their mode of transport, just happy to breathe the crisp air of the outside again and to visit outside of the hospital.
An office goon sits in the driver’s seat, and Karla gets in the back seat with the child. The ride is quick, and uneventful. The store sits itself in an open air mall, and the air is full of joy and merriment as people hurry around to their shopping. Many in the crowd can be easily I’D as undercover agents, as they look noticeably worried.
At first the girl would find the crowd imposing and even ominous, retaining her latch onto the nurse as she lay practically tied to her side as they traveled through the shopping center. Each and every store they would pass by the girl would read the name out loud to herself and to Karla, however this ceased to be as the girl’s attention came to the rainbow patterned clothing of a group of young women in secondary school or college. Without a word and like a ghost the child would slip away from Karla as she immersed herself into the crowd, walking the other direction as to follow the group. Eventually, she would fully catch up to them and situate herself right behind one of the women, lightly tugging on her flowy robes. The young woman would exhale sharply before turning around with a slightly annoyed look on her face, yet she didn’t see anyone, or at least did not until she looked down, finding the small and curious child. The woman’s face would soften significantly as she smiles sweetly at the girl. “Hello, young one. Is there something I can help you with?” She would ask in a slightly concerned tone and in her native tongue of Galvarian as the rest of the women stopped to see the disturbance. The girl’s curious stare would turn slightly into a frown as she asked in Khoslol. “Do you speak the mother(land)’s tongue?” Her accent signaled that she was from Mæna. “Only a little bit, why what is wrong?” The woman asked in passable Khoslol, it being clear that it was not her first language. “Do you know why it snows?” The girl asks in complete seriousness, causing a confused look to overtake the woman.
"Im sorry?" The woman looks around the crowd. “Where are your parents, young one? Did you lose them?” The eldest of the young woman would take a step forward, a great smile on her face. “Because Mös mourns.” She says as she bends down to the girl’s eye level. “Where is your family, sister?” She asks the girl in fluent Khoslol.
“It is nice to see family here.” The girl exclaims in excitement “I see. .” The eldest says as she sighs, gripping her forehead. “What can I help you with, sister?” The girl would pipe up as she inquires “Where might the nearest coven be, dear sister?” She asks as she tilts in head in curiosity. “I require transit.” She explained further, not actually giving all that much information.
“Why are you moving, aren’t you a little too young for wanderlust?” The girl would stare at the woman blankly before simply just shaking her head. A disappointed sigh and breath would come from the eldest before she gave in. “Counter Pontiff Palkhaw of the Boreal Sanctuary should be able to give you bedding and help.” The girl’s face would be drowned in gratitude. “Thank you dear sister and may the evening’s stars favor you!” The woman would then hug the girl and stand up, lifting her off of her feet and dangling in the air for a few seconds as she hugged the girl tightly. “It is of no concern, just stay safe, sister.” She whispered with great concern audible in her voice as she squeezed the pale girl before bringing her back to the ground. As one last action she messed up the girl’s hair slightly in a pat lasting two seconds. “Please, can you do that for me sister?” She asks once more. “Of course, dear sister!” The woman would smile brightly before turning away and beginning to continue her walk with the rest of the group. “Bye bye, dear sister!” The girl would exclaim as she would frantically wave as they walked away.
The girl then came out of it and looked at her surroundings, not sure exactly where she had landed. She begins to walk in the direction she was originally heading.
“You LOST her?”
A very pissed off agent yells at Karla.
“How in the hell did you lose her, she was practically attached to you!”
He continued to yell, throwing his hands up in frustration. The radio buzzed with activity as all agents on scene went into overdrive to locate the girl.
“I-I don’t know, she was here one minute, gone the next! I didn’t take my eyes off her for more than a minute!”
Karla stammers out. After a moment, the agent shakes his head, clearly listening to the radio.
“She’s one block over, heading along the main road, let's move”
He barks. Karla and the agent race off to intercept who the hope is the right child mixed into the sea of people. Back at the hospital, a detachment from SAT speed in a pair of MRAPs towards the mall. Running down the block, they spot the girl, and the agent melts into the crowd again. Running up to the girl, Karla says, quite concerned
“Good heavens child where have you been? You had me so worried”
She grabs onto the girls hand, and gets down on her level
“Please don’t do that, you gave me a great scare”
“I-.” The girl was caught off guard as she sought to explain herself, only finding herself caught off before she could even finish the first word as she seems to swell up with tears at realizing the trouble she has caused to Karla in specific and only Karla. “I’m sorry. . .” The girl would say meekly as she reattached herself to Karla, hugging onto her, as if she was fearful that she was gonna lose her forever. She then hurried her face into Karla’s side to hide her shame. “I’m sorry. . .” The girl would keep repeating to both herself and Karla the entire way over.
She looks genuinely upset from the ordeal. Over the radio, of which Karla had an earpiece and could listen in on, a very irritated agent Fischer says
“Alright people, the package is secured. Let's try not to have any more excitement. Eyes on the prize. Disperse and find this asshole.”
Taking the girl to the store, and further to a section full of animal plushies as far as the girl’s meager height could show her, she says
“I should take your butt right back to the hospital for scaring me like that, but a promise is a promise, so pick out your favorite sweetheart."
Eventually as they winded up in the store itself the girl would finally peek back out into the world, looking with amazement at the wares of the store, her excitement falling back into shame as she hugged on tighter, only mumbling. “I’m sorry. . .”
Sighing, Karla bends down again, and embraces the girl in a hug. Whispering into her ear, she says.
“Shhh, it's ok child. You're safe, and that's all that matters.”
Pulling her out of the hug, and looking into her eyes, she says.
“Now be quick and pick one. Our friends from the hospital won’t want you out much longer because of that stunt. But if you promise to be good, maybe we can take the long way back.”
She says with a smile
A person seems to materialize behind her from the crowd, and gives her a scowl. He disappeared after Karla gave a heavy sigh, and said
“Well, maybe not.”
The girl would seem to calm down but still remain rather hesitant to even take a step away from Karla, only stammering as she made a brief look of all that was around her. “Wh- what do you like?” She would ask, seeming to have no independence of her own when it comes to such decisions, whether it be because someone always made the decision for her or she was never given a choice.
Thinking hard on it, she picks a small but very fluffy sheep plushie. While it’s certainly not cute by any means, sporting a blackened face and beady eyes, it is extremely soft to the touch.
“What about this one? It’s so soft. And it's got a little button nose like you”
She says poking the girls nose, and handing the sheep over to her. The girl would be blushed as her nose is pressed and is handed the toy. Immediately she would cherish the plushie, hugging onto it as if it was her first gift, ever. Satisfied that the girl liked the gift, Karla gave her a pat on the head saying
“I’m glad you like it. Come along now, before Mr. Fischer has a canary with us being out so long.”
Quickly paying for the plushie the cashier, a girl barely scratching her early 20s, lights up when the mystery girl places her toy on the counter.
“Aww that's adorable! Do you have a new friend, sweetheart? Is this your daughter miss?”
She says giving a confused look from the half hezranian girl and the guthic caretaker. The girl would fall back into her scared demeanor as they went to the cashier, only hugging onto Karla tighter as the cashier, obviously deeply embarrassed as her Snow White skin contrasted with the new found pink. Giving a dismissive reply, Karla says
“No no, I’m just watching her for the week for a close friend of mine, have a blessed day to you.”
They leave the store with haste, and Karla takes the girl back towards the car. However, midway to it she is intercepted by one of the undercover agents. Whispering to her, he says
“Think we got a PID on the boogie man. Go to the car, I’ll take the long route with the girl, have the driver meet us two blocks west.”
Giving the girl a concerned look, she bends down and says.
“I’ll go ahead and bring the car to you sweetheart, but this nice man from the agency wants to buy you a cookie as a going away present from them. I know how you feel about them, but I promise I’ll only be gone a minute.”
The girl looks as if she is gonna begin crying but she steels herself as only one tear formulates, only just meekly nodding her head as she has no say in the matter as her protests would be falling on deaf ears.
Karla hands the girl over to the agent and begins hurrying off to the car. She gives a cheerful wave to the girl as she goes.
Sheepishly, the agent says
“Now come with me young one, I know a candy store no child on the planet could pass up”
The girl would hug the plush close to her chest as she watches Karla run off to the vehicle, unmoving for several seconds before she begins to get dragged off by the goon, only moving with him as to not get literally dragged down the two blocks.
He guided her two blocks west of where the car previously was. While the agent did take the girl to a candy shop, he left it up to her to decide if she wanted to go in and buy something or not. Outside the shop, several plainclothes agents eye the surrounding area with suspicion. The girl would look through the window and her face would light up as she seemed to find something of interest, immediately turning around and lightly tugging on the agent and pointing to the store, seeming to want him to accompany her instead, if not for comfort than to pay at the least.
“Alright, I’ll go in with you then.”
The man relents, and gives a nod to what appears to be a pair of agents at the door acting as lookouts. Inside the store, candy lines every conceivable surface. The foil wrappers of the various candies shine in the light of the store, giving the place a glowing warmth to it. To any child, it would look like heaven came to earth. Sitting behind the counter is a rather bored looking teenager, with a much older woman. Smacking the boy upside the head, she chides
“We have customers, snap to child”
The boy sighs, and starts to come around the counter before the agent waves him off
“That. Won’t be necessary, thank you ma’am.”
Allowing the mystery girl to pick out a piece of candy of her choosing, she walks up and down a few aisles before coming upon a massive piece of white chocolate. It looks comically large in the girl's hands, and on seeing it, the man chuckles.
“Glad you found something you like.”
Coming to the register the woman tells the boy to go away from the register. Taking it herself, she says
“Will that be all today?”
Looking at the comically sized candy bar, the agent snickers
“I’m not sure she could carry anymore if she wanted to, yeah. Thanks”
Leaving the store, and checking his watch, the agent says…
At the car
Concurrent to events at the candy store
Agents plainclothes and not surrounded the car as Karla walked up to it. Agent Fischer was there, along with part of a SAT team, and came up to her as she approached.
“Here's the plan, we spotted the target leaving this area, so we assume he’s gonna try and ambush the girl. Drone is overhead keeping an eye on her. We are gonna walk you to her convoy style, and light his ass up if he tries anything.”
He says. Nodding her head in reply, Karla replies
“OK. Let’s just hurry, the girl’s doing better but still doesn’t like strangers. I’d rather not leave her alone for too long.”
“Don’t get too attached to the ankle biter Weiss. She goes home soon if today goes according to plan”
He calls after her as she begins to get into the Humvee. Closing the heavy reinforced door with a thump, she says to the driver with an exasperated sigh
“Alright, let's get this over with, meet them two blocks west of the toy store.”
Nodding in the affirmative, the driver reaches down to press the start up button on the Humvee. When he does, the engine begins to rev, before a powerful explosion tears through the car with a deafening KA-BOOM. The top of the car is blown off, and both occupants are killed instantly. Diving to the ground from the explosion, like many around the vehicle, the only thing Fischer can get out is
“FUCK!”
Shrapnel rains down from the explosion, and the air quickly fills with the stench of the acrid smoke billowing from the vehicle. The MRAPs around the now destroyed vehicle quickly pull away, and someone comes to grab Fischer and toss him in the back of a moving vehicle.
Outside the candy store
Now
Checking his watch, the agent says to the girl
“Well, our ride should be-”
An loud explosion cuts him off, as a plume of black smoke rises into the air originating from the area the Humvee was parked in.
“Oh SHIT”
The agent shouts, as the mystery girl takes off in a sprint away from the explosion. Following suit are the hundreds of shoppers that were, up until a few moments ago, peacefully carrying out their business. Screams from panicked shoppers fill the air, along with the sounds of the stampede away from the blast site. Easily catching up to the girl, the agent scoops her up into his arms. As he does so an MRAP comes barreling around the corner, and comes to a screeching halt some 20 feet before them. Throwing the left side passenger door open, an agent screams from inside
“Get in!”
Charging into the vehicle, the agent yells to the driver
“Back to the hospital, now!”
Their radios are once again abuzz with activity.
H. Wolf Memorial
JTF Nightcrawler HQ
6 hours later
Men murmured among themselves in what was an old conference room for the hospital staff. It was cramped, but it allowed for some level of privacy for intel to be discussed between Fischer and his team leads. Right now, a projector sat in the end of the table, blowing up a video taken from the drone. All discussion in the room was focused on it.
“Gotcha you sonofabitch”
Agent Fischer mumbles to himself, a self satisfied grin curling across his face.
The RQ-170, with its advanced cameras, had captured a few precious moments of video of their quarry recloaking after the car bomb had detonated. As luck would have it, the EOD team had also recovered a part of the bomb, and were working to get finger prints off it as the team studied the footage. One of the men in the room pushed his way through the crowd, and tapped Fischer on the shoulder. He grunted, being knocked out of a trancelike state.
“It's about Mrs. Weiss’s next of kin.”
The unpleasant business of dead agency personnel had weighed down. One of the field agents, Simon Hoffman, and the nurse Karla Weiss had been killed by the car bomb today, with countless minor injuries. This meeting to discuss had been a welcome reprieve from such dark business. Had.
“Yes? Did you find someone?”
He said, exhaustion palpable in his voice, his previous optimism all but shattered. While Hoffman had been a painful call to a set of now grieving parents, Weiss had no husband, no living parents, just a Nephew of a long dead brother that didn’t even know she existed.
“We did. A 10 year old boy staying with a babysitting service here in the city.”
The man replies, sorrow dripping from his voice
“Fuck.” Fischer breaths. “Find a home for him. Someone around the office has to be looking to adopt.” He finishes distantly.
“Will do. It aint your fault, Elias”
The man says, patting him on the shoulder before taking his leave. Another man edges past him, with a smile on his face. He has a folder in his hand, and says for the whole room to hear
“We got a match on a set of prints!”
The room, desperate for good news, cheers. Throwing the folder down on the table, the man exclaims
“David Mizrahi, of Judean descent, looks like he’s some kinda merc”
Scoffing, one of the FRG officials in the room says
“Mercenary? Mizrahi’s no mercenary, he’s a killer for hire. A damn effective one at that. Fuckin guy is wanted in more places then he isn’t.”
There was a silence that washed over the room, before someone finally said what was on everyone’s minds.
“Why the hell is a man like Mizrahi going after a child?”
Answering, but almost saying it to himself, Fischer says
“Or who’s paying him to.”
Sometime after the 2022 Galavarian-Ninhundland War
Sneaking out of the castle, and using their joint expertise to evade the eyes of Jorge’s personal security detail, the streets of Varbrook lie open to the pair of renegades. Walking down side streets, they avoid the traditional Varbrook bar scene, which is overflowing with patrons this time of night. Instead, Jorge leads the pair to a relatively quiet street some six blocks from the Office of Internal Affairs HQ. Sitting on the corner is a small pub that looks older, and out of place next to some of the more modern buildings that make up this section of the city. The name above the bar, etched into a worn wooden sign above the main entrance says ‘Gertrude’s Pub’. The bouncer on the door gives Jorge a nod as he passes, a wordless agreement to the two. Inside the bar, the inside matches the outside. It is modeled to look like a pub from a forgotten time, or it simply never underwent a serious renovation and is simply that old. Only two figures sit at the bar, with a handful more sitting at tables that line the walls of the establishment. They look up from their drinks, but quickly go back to them when they see who it is. The barkeep, an old man with a well trimmed gray beard that goes past his chin, and a pair of spectacles, gives a polite nod to the pair, and says.
“Ah, I was wondering when you come back round. I see you’ve brought a friend.”
Not breaking stride, Jorge walks up to the bar, and replies sarcastically
“You know it’s because you serve the best chicken wings this side of Eporan.”
Chuckling to himself he says, eyeing Elle with curiosity.
“I’m sure, so what will it be then, the usual? And how about your lady friend here?
“Yeah, and something weak for her”
Jorge responds quickly, to prevent Elle from ordering for herself. Pulling a chair out for her, he says
“Not exactly the picture of the Varbrook bar scene, but I thought you’d appreciate the privacy more.”
While they talk, the barkeep puts a bottle of whiskey on the table, with two glasses. Jorge’s glass gets filled with nothing but whiskey. Elle’s drink gets filled with not nearly as much whiskey, and is cut with ginger ale and plenty of ice.
With a flustered pout and an annoyed gaze the girl would meekly take the seat that was presented to her, keeping her legs together as she is clearly embarrassed at her outfit, leaving a hand to cover her chest half hazardously. She would not respond to Jorge’s comments, sheepishly waiting for her drink and then back to Jorge, bemoaning in a barely audible tone.“I am not a child, Jorge. . .”
Giving a dismissive wave, he responds
“I know, I know. I forget sometimes. Being protective a bad habit I picked up from Michael”
He says with a mischievous grin. Noting the girl’s embarrassment, he looks around the bar and says
“Ain’t none but us here really Elle. This place is where all the intel agency guys go to talk shop, so it's all tight lips here.”
Taking a swig of his drink, he relishes the burn of the booze for a moment, before taking her hand and moving it away from her chest. Saying as he did so
“You have nothing to fear. Let alone the bouncer knocking someone’s teeth in for giving me a stink eye, I’ll personally bury any gawkers. And if you're worried about the way you look, don’t. You look great”
“I’ll have to take your word on it.” She says as she sighs and places her chin on the table as she stares at her drink, something obviously on her mind.“I feel exposed. I don’t know how your servants can wear such things in their free time while still maintaining their dignity.”
Giving Elle a soft smile, and throwing up his hands, he says
“It’s what's fashionable. Maybe not something we’d walk around in day to day, but hey, keeps us incognito. Your dignity remains intact. Nevermind the girl who threatened to bite nurses at the age of nine talking about dignity.”
She finally raises her head and takes a sizable sip out of it before she seems to painfully swallow it, coughing for a second before it all goes down. “You are just saying that to say that, your majesty.” She says with a hidden blush.
Taking a sip of his drink, he waves his hand, and cringes as he clearly drank too much and tries to respond too quickly.
“Ech. What's with the ‘your majesty’ crap. I got a first name, and I’d appreciate hearing it sometimes.”
“If you say so. You people are rather strange.” She says while unconsciously taking a sip from her drink.“I don’t know what I did nine years ago has to do with this.” She says dismissively. “We can’t have everything we want in life. . . your majesty.” She says with a light hearted smile and her tone being that of teasing, knowing he disliked it.
He smiles, letting go of her hand and receives a package from the bartender. It is a crumpled up paper bag with some loose string tying it closed. Quickly tearing it away, he hides the contents in his belt. A flash of chrome is all that was visible. Giving you a wink, he says
“Can’t be too careful. Anyway, you never answered me before Schneehase, what brings this visit?”
“I already told you, I came to see you guys. I didn’t visit as much as I wanted before the war and I guess that put some things into perspective for me.” She says before taking another sip, this time able to drink it without having a coughing fit. “But if you must know, some asshole opened up the file on the Marigold Street Case. I receive an automated email whenever that happens.”
Laughing loudly and banging his fist on the bar, at her added reason for visiting he says
“Ha! I knew it. Well it's probably the new director looking into you coming in and out of the country. Karl may have tipped him off after the little stunt you pulled with him.”
“Poor fool doesn’t even know he is breaking like three different laws just by investigating it. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.” She said, very much so annoyed that someone was unknowingly digging into her past
Realizing something more might be wrong, he leaned across the bar, and whispered something to the barkeep. Nodding his head, and taking the large wad of bills he slid across the bar, the barkeep walks away, taking the two other patrons at the bar with them. Turning to Elle, he says
“Normally, I’d rag on you harder for being right about not coming here just to see me. And believe me, that comes later. But-”
He leans in and drops his voice down slightly lower
“Is there something on your mind?”
A small concerned look draws on her face as he sends the bartender away, even more so when he leans in. With a deadpan look she would turn to him and stare him straight in the eyes, taking her breath, clearly going to say something, before she poked his nose. “It’s not something you should concern yourself with.” She says in a gleeful tone as it is clear she is already intoxicated. Being taken aback by the nose poke, he laughs, his own drink starting to take effect.
Finishing his first drink, he pours out a second with the bottle the barkeep left them. He goes to say something about her snark, but decides against it, deciding instead to refill her glass, a little stiffer this time. Taking another swig, and getting serious for a moment, he says
“Say the word, and I can have them close the file up. It'll leave my footprint on it though.
Immediately the girl would take another sip, then another after that, shaking her head fervently. “No, no, no, no, no. That would only make them curious, just gotta hope they drown in all the paperwork.”
“I’m worried is all Elle, you don't seem like yourself. you're basically one of the family, and we take care of our own. It also helps that the intel you provided during the war was something else.”He says, with a edge of genuine concern edging into his upbeat tone
“Whattttttt do you mean?~” She says in a loving tone why looking lovingly into his eyes, a blush taking her. “I think you are the one acting weird.” She would take another sip before she leans onto him, nuzzling into him.
Realizing she was getting drunk quick, and now may be the best time to get information out of her, he allows her to lean into him, and give her a short hug, before saying
“I know when you're throwing up walls Elle. You know, you're like the sister I never had. You can talk to me.”
Immediately Jorge would feel the girl tense up, not a sound coming from her for several seconds, not even the sound of breathing. She looks up at him, her eyes showing she is scared. “Wh- what do you mean?” Her voice shaky as she attempts to maintain her composure.
“Well I’ve known you since you were a little kid. I know geopolitics would never allow it to make it official, but here.”
He reaches into his pocket and produces an official Galavarian seal. It looks slightly different from the ones she’s seen the brothers use. It bears an inscription in old Latin, saying Non Sanguinis - soror veri spiritus (Not by blood, sister of true spirit). Seals are carried by members of the royal family, as an old tradition to signify who they were and codify anything they wrote. To date, there has never been a modern instance where someone outside of Galavaria has received such a seal
“Had to beg my parents for ages for this, but I finally got it. You're one of the family, Elle.”
Her exhausted eyes would stare deeply at the seal with confusion, blinking rapidly as tears begin to formulate. “I- I don’t understand. .” Her voice had no other tone to it than a deep and complete confusion.
Taking a moment to collect his own thoughts, and put the drink down, he says
“Well, you always told me how shit your own family treats you. And you were always coming around to ours, so I figured, why not make it official. This marks you as one of the family, Elle”
He goes to deposit the seal in her hands. It looks like a ring, with the words on the top and bottom of the face, and the Galavarian Lion emblazoned in between them. For women, this was the standard, to be worn on the right hand opposite from their wedding ring, or to be turned into some form of necklace.
She would look off to the side as she grip encloses on the seal as she squeezes it tightly as she remembered the last time she received a ring. “They are just distant is all. . .” She says, completely excusing the actions of her kin as she attempts to process what is happening. Without looking she puts in on her right hand before beginning to rub the engagement ring on her left hand. “When are you gonna marry me. . . ?” She questions while her eyes continue to remain astray
“Marry, wha-”
An epiphany comes to his face. As if he realized a thousand unconnected events were all suddenly connected.
“Elle it ain't like that. I love you like family, like your of my blood. Marriage-”
He struggles to find the right words, and curses himself silently for choosing whiskey.
“Marriage is a different kind of love. But in the end, they are both of the same emotion.”
He smiles, but behind the smile is deep concern. He is slowly coming to realize he’s deeply upset her, and regret is welling up inside him. He fights it down, with difficulty.
Her face immediately is stricken with pain as tears begin to form silently as she attempts to try to understand what the prince is trying to convey. Suddenly she latches onto him, hugging very tightly. As she looks up back at him she seems to compose herself enough for a genuine smile. “Yeah, but II love you!” She exclaims from the bottom of her heart. “And if I love you and you love me why can’t we get married?”
In a surprise move, he returned the hug. Moving her so she could still be latched on, but he could look at her face, he says
“Because I hold the same love in my heart for you, as I do for my brothers. You wouldn’t marry your sisters right?”
Thinking for a moment, he says
“I understand this must be something new for you, as those monsters you call a family never showed you the kind of love I’m talking about.”
His jaw locks, and anger comes to his face, before it's quickly replaced by sorrow
“That's why I want you to have this, to know what it's like to have a family. A real one, that stands by you.”
“If they wanted to why would I refuse?” She says without a single second to think, it being her first thought. Clearly the alcohol making her honest, with all the pitfalls that come with it. She squints at him before sheepishly letting her head fall back into his chest, sleepy. “Please don’t call them such uncourteous, they will be your in laws after all.” She says as she attempts to get him to reciprocate her nuzzles, as she tries her best to not pay attention to his words. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he forces her eyes to meet his own.
“Elle, are you sure you understand what marriage is? It’s not something you do with just anybody. I don’t want to marry you, I want you to become a part of my family. Micheal, hell even Karl feels the same way. Blood, in all but name.”
He looks sad that she is not getting in, and deep down his blood boils at the ‘in-laws’ Elle previously mentioned.
At the sudden forced eye contact it is clear that she is scared, her shaking becoming uncontrollable as his words taunt her. The world seems to come to a crawl around her as she whispers “Bu- but I love you. . .” Her breathing begins at a heightened rate as she repeats. “But I love you!” She cries as her eyes flood with tears. She attempts to throw herself back into the hug fully as she painfully sobs
He allows her to throw herself onto him, and returns the hug. "I know, Elle, I know. Welcome to the family." He says, patting her back softly "I wanna go home" She mumbles into his shirt. "Yeah, lets get you home." He says, his own eyes watering slightly. Giving a half wave to the barkeep, he wraps his arm around Elle and starts to get them out of the pub.
November 11th, 2013
H. Wolf Memorial hospital
In the week since the prince visited, the joint task force had turned up nothing in regards to a shooter. The only thing they had gleaned from their patient was that she led a sad home life, and was very keen on avoiding questions. In the interim, she has been cared for by her two nurses, Charlie and Karla. The child took more to Karla instantly, and even then refused to open up. It seems as though the only person she’d speak to in any detail was Prince Jorge. Unfortunately, he had been wrapped up in training outside of the city, his way of working off his father’s grounding so he could be more present on the case. What he didn’t know was that this was his father’s way of removing him from the case, to keep him out of danger. At the hospital, Karla was busy finishing up a final physical exam with the mystery child. She had asked, and surprisingly been approved to take the child outside the hospital to buy her a stuffed animal, as a reward. She would still have to remain at the hospital until the threat of the shooter is over, but more and more people high up in Galavarian politics were beginning to assume the threat was over. In a desperate bid, Agent Fischer approved Karla’s outing as bait. While it ate him up inside, using the pair as bait to lure the shooter out, he was running out of options, and the task force had been formally threatened with dissolution if they didn’t come up with hard evidence. As a precaution, he had an MQ-9 shadowing the pair along with an RQ-170 surveying the area around them. On the ground, they were consistently surrounded by agents from both intel agencies in low visibility kits. Nestled into the high rises around the targets were several sniper teams, keeping a lookout on potential locations. On standby, Fischer and a SAT team waited should they need to come in guns blazing. Finishing up the physical, Karla says to the girl
“Well it looks like you’ve recovered quite well, young one. Along with that good news I have a surprise for you!”
Taking out a sheet of paper she hands it to the child, it is an advertisement for various animal plushie’s at a toy store chain.
“We’re gonna get you a present for finishing up your treatments and being a good patient!”
The girl’s bored expression would instantly light up to that of excitement and curiosity as her wandering eyes immediately affixed on the nurse as she tilted her head slightly. Her small hands would grasp onto the paper in excitement as she fervently read through it. With a sweet but concerned smile her eyes reverted to Karla, her voice cracking as she sought confirmation. “Really???”
Giving a warm smile, she says
“Yes! Come quick child, I can take you.”
The child did not let another second pass before she sprung from the hospital bed and onto her feet, running to go slip on her shoes. Once secured she would run back to Karla and hug onto her arm. Leading her to an unmarked up armored Humvee, that resembles more of a transport meant for war than for the streets of the capital, she opens the door and gives a nervous laugh
“Can’t be too careful, we want to make sure the bad man can’t get you.”
The girl would seem unphased by their mode of transport, just happy to breathe the crisp air of the outside again and to visit outside of the hospital.
An office goon sits in the driver’s seat, and Karla gets in the back seat with the child. The ride is quick, and uneventful. The store sits itself in an open air mall, and the air is full of joy and merriment as people hurry around to their shopping. Many in the crowd can be easily I’D as undercover agents, as they look noticeably worried.
At first the girl would find the crowd imposing and even ominous, retaining her latch onto the nurse as she lay practically tied to her side as they traveled through the shopping center. Each and every store they would pass by the girl would read the name out loud to herself and to Karla, however this ceased to be as the girl’s attention came to the rainbow patterned clothing of a group of young women in secondary school or college. Without a word and like a ghost the child would slip away from Karla as she immersed herself into the crowd, walking the other direction as to follow the group. Eventually, she would fully catch up to them and situate herself right behind one of the women, lightly tugging on her flowy robes. The young woman would exhale sharply before turning around with a slightly annoyed look on her face, yet she didn’t see anyone, or at least did not until she looked down, finding the small and curious child. The woman’s face would soften significantly as she smiles sweetly at the girl. “Hello, young one. Is there something I can help you with?” She would ask in a slightly concerned tone and in her native tongue of Galvarian as the rest of the women stopped to see the disturbance. The girl’s curious stare would turn slightly into a frown as she asked in Khoslol. “Do you speak the mother(land)’s tongue?” Her accent signaled that she was from Mæna. “Only a little bit, why what is wrong?” The woman asked in passable Khoslol, it being clear that it was not her first language. “Do you know why it snows?” The girl asks in complete seriousness, causing a confused look to overtake the woman.
"Im sorry?" The woman looks around the crowd. “Where are your parents, young one? Did you lose them?” The eldest of the young woman would take a step forward, a great smile on her face. “Because Mös mourns.” She says as she bends down to the girl’s eye level. “Where is your family, sister?” She asks the girl in fluent Khoslol.
“It is nice to see family here.” The girl exclaims in excitement “I see. .” The eldest says as she sighs, gripping her forehead. “What can I help you with, sister?” The girl would pipe up as she inquires “Where might the nearest coven be, dear sister?” She asks as she tilts in head in curiosity. “I require transit.” She explained further, not actually giving all that much information.
“Why are you moving, aren’t you a little too young for wanderlust?” The girl would stare at the woman blankly before simply just shaking her head. A disappointed sigh and breath would come from the eldest before she gave in. “Counter Pontiff Palkhaw of the Boreal Sanctuary should be able to give you bedding and help.” The girl’s face would be drowned in gratitude. “Thank you dear sister and may the evening’s stars favor you!” The woman would then hug the girl and stand up, lifting her off of her feet and dangling in the air for a few seconds as she hugged the girl tightly. “It is of no concern, just stay safe, sister.” She whispered with great concern audible in her voice as she squeezed the pale girl before bringing her back to the ground. As one last action she messed up the girl’s hair slightly in a pat lasting two seconds. “Please, can you do that for me sister?” She asks once more. “Of course, dear sister!” The woman would smile brightly before turning away and beginning to continue her walk with the rest of the group. “Bye bye, dear sister!” The girl would exclaim as she would frantically wave as they walked away.
The girl then came out of it and looked at her surroundings, not sure exactly where she had landed. She begins to walk in the direction she was originally heading.
“You LOST her?”
A very pissed off agent yells at Karla.
“How in the hell did you lose her, she was practically attached to you!”
He continued to yell, throwing his hands up in frustration. The radio buzzed with activity as all agents on scene went into overdrive to locate the girl.
“I-I don’t know, she was here one minute, gone the next! I didn’t take my eyes off her for more than a minute!”
Karla stammers out. After a moment, the agent shakes his head, clearly listening to the radio.
“She’s one block over, heading along the main road, let's move”
He barks. Karla and the agent race off to intercept who the hope is the right child mixed into the sea of people. Back at the hospital, a detachment from SAT speed in a pair of MRAPs towards the mall. Running down the block, they spot the girl, and the agent melts into the crowd again. Running up to the girl, Karla says, quite concerned
“Good heavens child where have you been? You had me so worried”
She grabs onto the girls hand, and gets down on her level
“Please don’t do that, you gave me a great scare”
“I-.” The girl was caught off guard as she sought to explain herself, only finding herself caught off before she could even finish the first word as she seems to swell up with tears at realizing the trouble she has caused to Karla in specific and only Karla. “I’m sorry. . .” The girl would say meekly as she reattached herself to Karla, hugging onto her, as if she was fearful that she was gonna lose her forever. She then hurried her face into Karla’s side to hide her shame. “I’m sorry. . .” The girl would keep repeating to both herself and Karla the entire way over.
She looks genuinely upset from the ordeal. Over the radio, of which Karla had an earpiece and could listen in on, a very irritated agent Fischer says
“Alright people, the package is secured. Let's try not to have any more excitement. Eyes on the prize. Disperse and find this asshole.”
Taking the girl to the store, and further to a section full of animal plushies as far as the girl’s meager height could show her, she says
“I should take your butt right back to the hospital for scaring me like that, but a promise is a promise, so pick out your favorite sweetheart."
Eventually as they winded up in the store itself the girl would finally peek back out into the world, looking with amazement at the wares of the store, her excitement falling back into shame as she hugged on tighter, only mumbling. “I’m sorry. . .”
Sighing, Karla bends down again, and embraces the girl in a hug. Whispering into her ear, she says.
“Shhh, it's ok child. You're safe, and that's all that matters.”
Pulling her out of the hug, and looking into her eyes, she says.
“Now be quick and pick one. Our friends from the hospital won’t want you out much longer because of that stunt. But if you promise to be good, maybe we can take the long way back.”
She says with a smile
A person seems to materialize behind her from the crowd, and gives her a scowl. He disappeared after Karla gave a heavy sigh, and said
“Well, maybe not.”
The girl would seem to calm down but still remain rather hesitant to even take a step away from Karla, only stammering as she made a brief look of all that was around her. “Wh- what do you like?” She would ask, seeming to have no independence of her own when it comes to such decisions, whether it be because someone always made the decision for her or she was never given a choice.
Thinking hard on it, she picks a small but very fluffy sheep plushie. While it’s certainly not cute by any means, sporting a blackened face and beady eyes, it is extremely soft to the touch.
“What about this one? It’s so soft. And it's got a little button nose like you”
She says poking the girls nose, and handing the sheep over to her. The girl would be blushed as her nose is pressed and is handed the toy. Immediately she would cherish the plushie, hugging onto it as if it was her first gift, ever. Satisfied that the girl liked the gift, Karla gave her a pat on the head saying
“I’m glad you like it. Come along now, before Mr. Fischer has a canary with us being out so long.”
Quickly paying for the plushie the cashier, a girl barely scratching her early 20s, lights up when the mystery girl places her toy on the counter.
“Aww that's adorable! Do you have a new friend, sweetheart? Is this your daughter miss?”
She says giving a confused look from the half hezranian girl and the guthic caretaker. The girl would fall back into her scared demeanor as they went to the cashier, only hugging onto Karla tighter as the cashier, obviously deeply embarrassed as her Snow White skin contrasted with the new found pink. Giving a dismissive reply, Karla says
“No no, I’m just watching her for the week for a close friend of mine, have a blessed day to you.”
They leave the store with haste, and Karla takes the girl back towards the car. However, midway to it she is intercepted by one of the undercover agents. Whispering to her, he says
“Think we got a PID on the boogie man. Go to the car, I’ll take the long route with the girl, have the driver meet us two blocks west.”
Giving the girl a concerned look, she bends down and says.
“I’ll go ahead and bring the car to you sweetheart, but this nice man from the agency wants to buy you a cookie as a going away present from them. I know how you feel about them, but I promise I’ll only be gone a minute.”
The girl looks as if she is gonna begin crying but she steels herself as only one tear formulates, only just meekly nodding her head as she has no say in the matter as her protests would be falling on deaf ears.
Karla hands the girl over to the agent and begins hurrying off to the car. She gives a cheerful wave to the girl as she goes.
Sheepishly, the agent says
“Now come with me young one, I know a candy store no child on the planet could pass up”
The girl would hug the plush close to her chest as she watches Karla run off to the vehicle, unmoving for several seconds before she begins to get dragged off by the goon, only moving with him as to not get literally dragged down the two blocks.
He guided her two blocks west of where the car previously was. While the agent did take the girl to a candy shop, he left it up to her to decide if she wanted to go in and buy something or not. Outside the shop, several plainclothes agents eye the surrounding area with suspicion. The girl would look through the window and her face would light up as she seemed to find something of interest, immediately turning around and lightly tugging on the agent and pointing to the store, seeming to want him to accompany her instead, if not for comfort than to pay at the least.
“Alright, I’ll go in with you then.”
The man relents, and gives a nod to what appears to be a pair of agents at the door acting as lookouts. Inside the store, candy lines every conceivable surface. The foil wrappers of the various candies shine in the light of the store, giving the place a glowing warmth to it. To any child, it would look like heaven came to earth. Sitting behind the counter is a rather bored looking teenager, with a much older woman. Smacking the boy upside the head, she chides
“We have customers, snap to child”
The boy sighs, and starts to come around the counter before the agent waves him off
“That. Won’t be necessary, thank you ma’am.”
Allowing the mystery girl to pick out a piece of candy of her choosing, she walks up and down a few aisles before coming upon a massive piece of white chocolate. It looks comically large in the girl's hands, and on seeing it, the man chuckles.
“Glad you found something you like.”
Coming to the register the woman tells the boy to go away from the register. Taking it herself, she says
“Will that be all today?”
Looking at the comically sized candy bar, the agent snickers
“I’m not sure she could carry anymore if she wanted to, yeah. Thanks”
Leaving the store, and checking his watch, the agent says…
At the car
Concurrent to events at the candy store
Agents plainclothes and not surrounded the car as Karla walked up to it. Agent Fischer was there, along with part of a SAT team, and came up to her as she approached.
“Here's the plan, we spotted the target leaving this area, so we assume he’s gonna try and ambush the girl. Drone is overhead keeping an eye on her. We are gonna walk you to her convoy style, and light his ass up if he tries anything.”
He says. Nodding her head in reply, Karla replies
“OK. Let’s just hurry, the girl’s doing better but still doesn’t like strangers. I’d rather not leave her alone for too long.”
“Don’t get too attached to the ankle biter Weiss. She goes home soon if today goes according to plan”
He calls after her as she begins to get into the Humvee. Closing the heavy reinforced door with a thump, she says to the driver with an exasperated sigh
“Alright, let's get this over with, meet them two blocks west of the toy store.”
Nodding in the affirmative, the driver reaches down to press the start up button on the Humvee. When he does, the engine begins to rev, before a powerful explosion tears through the car with a deafening KA-BOOM. The top of the car is blown off, and both occupants are killed instantly. Diving to the ground from the explosion, like many around the vehicle, the only thing Fischer can get out is
“FUCK!”
Shrapnel rains down from the explosion, and the air quickly fills with the stench of the acrid smoke billowing from the vehicle. The MRAPs around the now destroyed vehicle quickly pull away, and someone comes to grab Fischer and toss him in the back of a moving vehicle.
Outside the candy store
Now
Checking his watch, the agent says to the girl
“Well, our ride should be-”
An loud explosion cuts him off, as a plume of black smoke rises into the air originating from the area the Humvee was parked in.
“Oh SHIT”
The agent shouts, as the mystery girl takes off in a sprint away from the explosion. Following suit are the hundreds of shoppers that were, up until a few moments ago, peacefully carrying out their business. Screams from panicked shoppers fill the air, along with the sounds of the stampede away from the blast site. Easily catching up to the girl, the agent scoops her up into his arms. As he does so an MRAP comes barreling around the corner, and comes to a screeching halt some 20 feet before them. Throwing the left side passenger door open, an agent screams from inside
“Get in!”
Charging into the vehicle, the agent yells to the driver
“Back to the hospital, now!”
Their radios are once again abuzz with activity.
H. Wolf Memorial
JTF Nightcrawler HQ
6 hours later
Men murmured among themselves in what was an old conference room for the hospital staff. It was cramped, but it allowed for some level of privacy for intel to be discussed between Fischer and his team leads. Right now, a projector sat in the end of the table, blowing up a video taken from the drone. All discussion in the room was focused on it.
“Gotcha you sonofabitch”
Agent Fischer mumbles to himself, a self satisfied grin curling across his face.
The RQ-170, with its advanced cameras, had captured a few precious moments of video of their quarry recloaking after the car bomb had detonated. As luck would have it, the EOD team had also recovered a part of the bomb, and were working to get finger prints off it as the team studied the footage. One of the men in the room pushed his way through the crowd, and tapped Fischer on the shoulder. He grunted, being knocked out of a trancelike state.
“It's about Mrs. Weiss’s next of kin.”
The unpleasant business of dead agency personnel had weighed down. One of the field agents, Simon Hoffman, and the nurse Karla Weiss had been killed by the car bomb today, with countless minor injuries. This meeting to discuss had been a welcome reprieve from such dark business. Had.
“Yes? Did you find someone?”
He said, exhaustion palpable in his voice, his previous optimism all but shattered. While Hoffman had been a painful call to a set of now grieving parents, Weiss had no husband, no living parents, just a Nephew of a long dead brother that didn’t even know she existed.
“We did. A 10 year old boy staying with a babysitting service here in the city.”
The man replies, sorrow dripping from his voice
“Fuck.” Fischer breaths. “Find a home for him. Someone around the office has to be looking to adopt.” He finishes distantly.
“Will do. It aint your fault, Elias”
The man says, patting him on the shoulder before taking his leave. Another man edges past him, with a smile on his face. He has a folder in his hand, and says for the whole room to hear
“We got a match on a set of prints!”
The room, desperate for good news, cheers. Throwing the folder down on the table, the man exclaims
“David Mizrahi, of Judean descent, looks like he’s some kinda merc”
Scoffing, one of the FRG officials in the room says
“Mercenary? Mizrahi’s no mercenary, he’s a killer for hire. A damn effective one at that. Fuckin guy is wanted in more places then he isn’t.”
There was a silence that washed over the room, before someone finally said what was on everyone’s minds.
“Why the hell is a man like Mizrahi going after a child?”
Answering, but almost saying it to himself, Fischer says
“Or who’s paying him to.”
Vault- Posts : 27
Join date : 2021-04-21
The Finale Part 1: The Mourning and the Meeting
Two days after car bomb
H. Wolf memorial hospital
The last few days had been rough for the members of the joint task force. Endlessly processing reports related to the shooting, and dealing with the loss of two of their own. For Charlie, this meant being the sole caretaker of a now catatonic little girl. For the first 48 hours, he kept contact to a minimum, but pressure from agent Fischer was forcing him to do a daylight visit. Walking into the room, he discovers the girl is still asleep, at nearly 1 in the afternoon. Prodding her he says
"Hey. It's time to get up"
Seeing the plate of barely eaten food from the night before he sighs heavily, and tosses it in the trash. he continues.
"Time to wake up and eat."
He continues to poke and shake her until he gets results. Entering the room did not wake the girl, like how it would have in the previous weeks before the incident. The girl remained sound asleep at the first prod or so it seemed, only a sleepy murmur coming from the girl after a couple seconds, lost in her dreams. The second poke and further shake would find results however, groaning in a low voice into her pillow, tossing to the point where she was facing up but with a pillow pushed to cover her face while her other hand kept the plush to her heart. Not relenting, the man grabs the pillow, but does not move it, and says.
“I’ll give you one chance to get up by yourself, then I’m gonna do it my way.”
The girl would mumble something completely incoherent before the girl turned her head over to immerse her face in the pillow that was previously at the back of her head, wanting to return to sleep. Grunting, the man mumbles
“Hard way it is.”
He leaves the girl for around two minutes, leaving the room. On returning, he carries a spray bottle full of water. Walking up to the bed, he starts to rip away the covers and spray her with water. Moving for the pillow, he says.
“Up. You need to eat, you’ve slept the last two days away”
In the two minutes she would once again be at the edge of slumber, nuzzling into her warm covers and blanket, wrapping her arm around the pillow that supported her head as she laid on her side with another pillow in between her legs. Then, that all was stolen away from her as she was exposed to the cold air of the hospital’s ventilation in full, not even with a second to respond she was sprayed like a household pet. The first couple sprays were all that was needed to bring her to sit up with no support, her eyes barely open yet doing a puppy dog stare at Charlie as she hugged onto her plush, scared and seeming as if she was gonna cry. Getting a look at the man's face tells a story. His eyes hold heavy bags, and it appears as if he had been crying not long ago. His face is stony, and his voice holds no emotion.
“You need to eat.”
He repeats monotone.
“If not because you don’t wanna get stuck with an IV, do it for her”
He says pointing to the plushie. At the mention of Karla’s memory the girl begins to cry into her plushie, her words barely distinguishable due to it.
“I- I. I am not hungry.”
Not moving, or changing his tone from the monotone it has been, he asks
"Are you not hungry, or are you sad and don't want to eat? If it's the latter, that's not healthy, and will do nothing but make you sadder."
The girl uncomfortably shuffles as she brings the pillow up as a barrier in between herself and the nurse. The plushie pokes out from the top as it brushes her chin.
“I don’t know. . .”
She says half heartedly, her emotions unknown to herself. Softening his expression slightly, he sighs, and says.
"It's hard, I know. I've worked with Karla for the better part of 5 years. She really helped me out of a bad place. I know grief, and I know what you're going through. So when I say, 'you need to eat' I mean it from a good place."
“Why was she so nice?”
The girl asks as her lip quivers with emotion. She hugs the pillow further, thinking on what the nurse had relayed to her. Rubbing his chin, which now held stubble from days of not shaving, he replies.
"Beyond it being her job? Probably because you reminded her of her own kid. He's around your age."
Rubbing the back of his neck, he continues
"Karla was also always a sap. She dealt with the public facing side of this place, she wasn't really under the employ of the office. I am, but she never held it against me."
He says with an empty laugh. Some light would finally return to the girl’s face as she asks in an excitement that hasn’t been seen in the past two days, though it was much more tempered and meek than before.
“Are all mothers like Karla? What is his name?”
She was able to cease the faucet of tears from her eyes, rubbing them on the pillow as her grip on it lessened. Clearly uncomfortable with the way the conversation has turned, he says
"No. Everyone is different. Everyone has their own personality, and way of doing things. Like the difference between me and Karla"
A visible frown places itself on the girl’s face as the nurse uncomfortably explained. It looked almost as if hope drained from her soul.
“Oh. . . okay. I thought all moms are supposed to be nice.”
She said in a depressed tone as she almost slammed her face back into the pillow, disheartened.
"They are supposed to be, but-"
He silently curses his situation
"Not all people are good people. Like the bad man."
The girl did not respond as she soaked in her misery.
"Alright, well. I think I've done enough damage."
He mumbles sullenly. Patting the girl half heartedly on the head, he says
"I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you."
With that he leaves the room. After a few minutes alone the familiar messy haired head of Prince Jorge pokes into the room. His Majesty Jorge Brandt finds the mystery girl passed out on the bed, her covers and blankets having been tossed aside to the floor as she had her head on one pillow, another in-between her legs as she held close a plushie of a plus that seemed to be the recreation of a black faced white body four legged animal. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, pulls his head out of the room and closes the door. A few minutes later muffled whispering could be heard beyond the door, before it's once again quietly opened and an unwilling Prince is pushed into the room by Agent Fischer, who looks none too happy. He leaves the room with a huff, and the Prince takes a seat on a chair near the bed, busying himself with anything besides waking the sleeping child. After five minutes of idly waiting, he decides to pick the blanket up and drape it over the child. The extra weight placed on the child would be the straw that broke the child’s back, steering awake as she fell off the hospital bed and onto the ground, rubbing her eyes furiously as she lightly coughed. Jumping back by the sudden movement, the Prince gasps
"Crap!"
kneeling down to help her back onto the bed, he says
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you. Are you ok?"
Walking by because of the commotion Charlie calls
"I told you to just wake her up, your majesty! Left the spray bottle out and everything."
He doesn't wait for a reply, and keeps walking. The girl doesn't respond, only sullenly hugging onto the Prince and refusing to let go as she quietly yawns. Uncomfortable because of the girl's candor, but nonetheless seeing the need for her to let out some grief, he pats the girl's back.
"I herd about what happened"
he says sheepishly. Picking her up off the floor, he places her back into the bed, and takes a seat next to her.
"Your nurse tells me you're not eating. I thought eating something with me might change your mind"
He says, with some confidence coming back into his voice. The girl doesn't respond, once she could see again a very hidden smile placed itself upon her lips, only taking a action a grab the fallen plushie with one hand and stuff it in her neckline so it would not get lost as she once again latched herself to the prince, refusing to let go of quite possibly the only thing she thought she had left. Allowing the girl to hug him for a big longer, he finally clears his throat, and says
"So, erm. Some food?"
He motions to someone outside, and a pair of plates are brought in. On them sit a pair of sandwiches, along with a bag of potato chips. Laying a hand on the girl's shoulder, and attempting to get her attention he says
"Do you think we could sit on the bed and have some food?"
The girl did not respond to either prompt, only continuing to hug and even hug tighter as a hand fell on her shoulder. She would close her eyes and seek to try to fall back to sleep as she leaned her head deliriously on the prince. Not allowing her to fall back asleep, he doesn't fully break off the hug, but attempts to get down to her level
"Won't you please eat a little? I made it myself. We don't have to talk right now if you don't want to. But I'd like for you to eat a little something"
Instead of a protest or even more silence a single tired question would come from the girl, dodging the question.
“Do you have a mother?”
Happy he got her to say something, he drops his previous line of questioning, and responds
"Yes, I do."
He sits down on the bed, and takes one of the plates with him. Offering a hand to the girl, he says
"I'd be happy to talk more about my family if you'd join me."
He gives his best friendly smile, but it does little to hide the concern in his face.
“Is she nice?”
She asked as she remained unmoving towards the food or Jorge’s attempt to get her to stop trying to starve herself. Catching on quickly to her games, he says
"Yes, she is. Firm, but good to all of her children. Why do I get the feeling you are going to keep ignoring my question?"
Folding his arms, he says
"Because if that's the case, I'm just gonna eat my sandwich without you."
“Wow! That sounds cool!”
Her voice finally raises in excitement before she mellows out back down to reality.
“What question?”
"You're starving yourself. I ask you to eat and you ignore it."
He keeps his arms folded, and gives her a questioning look.
She would look away in shame before mumbling. “I am not hungry. . .”
"You are bad at lying. You haven't eaten anything in two days. Whatever coulda put the idea of starvation in your mind is beyond me."
He starts to eat his sandwich, and after a few moments says
"I know you're upset. There's nothing I can say to lessen it. But not eating doesn't make anything better."
“Can you tell me more about your mother?”
he starts to speak, and then stops himself. He continues to eat his sandwich, and pushes the other plate closer to the girl. He gives her a mischievous smile, weighed down by the sullen nature of the past days events. A visible frown would place itself on her face as she exclaims
“That is not fair!”
A smile comes over him, one he can’t seem to get rid of no matter how hard he tries. He tries to look understanding, but is clearly having fun with this. He shrugs his shoulders and looks at the girl expectantly. A defeated moan comes over the girl as she depressively leans her head on the prince she continues hugging, closing her eyes as her breathing slowed in rhythm. Still unable to wipe the smile off his face, he says
"You know, both me and my brothers used to fight dirty when we'd play together, so I know a thing or two about outwitting the stubborn"
He grabs the spray bottle from the nightstand, and makes gun sounds.
"Eyes open and reach for the sky missy. No falling asleep on my watch."
The girl doesn’t respond, lost in her thoughts as she tries to rest, not wanting this moment to end. Not relenting, he decides to set the spray bottle down on the bed so it's within arms reach. He then picks up her un eaten sandwich and starts to poke her in the mouth with it. Annoyed she would completely bury her face into the Prince’s shirt, clearly just wanting to rest. Huffing, he says
"I know you aren't that tired, you've slept the last few days away. I'm going to keep pestering you until you eat something."
Grabbing the spray bottle once again, he says
"I'm not afraid to use this"
He sloshes the water in the bottle around for effect. The girl would seem to say something, but it was completely incomprehensible due to her face being in his shirt and her seeming to speak in exhaustion. Depressing the trigger of the spray bottle, he squirts her head, and his shirt in the process. A very annoyed sound would come from the girl as she remained unmoving, attempting to run some of her hair on the prince to dry it. Finally, he would relent, only a little.
"If I let you sleep on me for a few minutes, do you promise to eat something after?"
‘sneaking into the capital against fathers wishes, and now letting a foreigner cling to me like a lost puppy. Father is going to have my ass for this.'
He thinks to himself. She would sheepishly nod her head up and down, not responding.
"Pinky promise?"
he says, extending a pinky finger. She would very hesitantly bring her head from the shirt of the prince and look at his pinky with great confusion.
"Right, different cultures"
he says rubbing the back of his neck
"Just keep to your word. You got 30 minutes."
He says, checking his watch.
She would tiredly push back into the hug, placing her head in his lap as she brought her feet from hanging off the side to lying on the bed. sitting back against the headboard, he tried to make himself comfortable. While she slept, he took the time to read everything written in the file attached to his bed, thinking to himself. ’What a strange girl.’
H. Wolf Memorial Hospital
November 16th
The late autumn’s cold winds brushed against the girl’s pale skin as she stared up at the cloudy skies as the snow slowly fell around her and on her, sprinkles on and off. Having barely even talked since the incident it was clear the girl was distraught, as her eyes slowly flickered open and closed as she found some serenity in the silence of the dying garden. Seasons come and seasons go, a simple truth of how all that is will wither. In a comically large hoodie the blades of glass were barely halted from prickling her skin as she laid on her back, quietly hugging the sheep plush close to her chest Standing at the entryway to the garden, Agent Fischer and Prince Jorge observe the girl.
"She say anything?"
Jorge asks, not taking his eyes off the distraught child
"Not a word."
Fischer responds distantly. Since the incident he has been working to the bone and back, and it's starting to wear on his common customs and curtsies. Not paying it any attention, Jorge says
"I'm going to go talk to her"
Jorge says more as a statement to the world then directed at Fischer specifically. ‘mmhmm’ was all he managed to say back, allowing himself to feel the cold snowy air, similarly to the mystery child. Walking over to her attempting to stand tall in the biting cold, he waits until he is but a few steps from the girl before saying anything.
"Are you ok?"
he says softly.
“Do you know why the snow is white?”
The girl asks in Galvarian as she continues to stare up at the sky. If it had not been for her making the inquiry it could have been assumed that she did not even register the Prince’s presence. In the next second as she waited for a reply she closed her eyes as she softly exhaled, barely even making any noise. Her tone had no emotion to it, as it seemed as if she was moments away from sleep. Not actually considering the question, he answers
"No, I don't. It's cold out here, and you're not dressed for this kind of weather, why don't you come inside. Let's have another chat"
“I thought not. It’s not a story that you would know. . .”
She said dismissively as she thought on the Prince’s words.
“You do not need to be here. The end draws closer as winter draws ever so closer. I’d be a waste of breath as I always am.”
She says the only other movement coming from her is her hugging the plushie tighter than ever before. The prince scowls at her words, and says
“That's a horrible thing to say about yourself. And completely untrue.”
His face softens.
“I’m not above ordering one of the goons around here to carry you inside, you know”
he says in a half hearted attempt at humor. At first she seems to not respond to the Prince’s words, only responding after what seems like five or six seconds.
“Everything that touches me dies. . .”
She seems to say to herself more than to the Prince. Although not moving her voice displays a deep sorrow. Getting flustered, the prince says
"But that wasn't your fault! how could you blame yourself for a killer's actions?"
The girl does not respond, simply continuing to lie on the grass in serene silence. Huffing, the prince exclaims
“Bah, you're stubborn, just like my brother. Fine. If you don’t wanna talk right now, don’t. But I’m not gonna give up-”
A hand falls on his shoulder, coming from Agent Fischer. He shakes his head solemnly, prompting Jorge to say
“-Fine. But I'm not letting you catch a cold out here.”
He takes his coat off, and drapes it over the child. It's warm, and made of wool. He then storms off. Sitting down in the snow next to the child Fischer, without looking at her, says
“He’s right, you know. And she wouldn’t want you catching a cold either. Don’t sully the memory of the dead with grief, celebrate the memories you had.”
His words are slow, and his voice is drained of most emotion from the events of the past several days. As soon as the Prince storms off the girl sits up and watches him leave, her eyes weakly following him all the way out. As the agent sits down next to her she pulls her knees up to her chest and pulls the coat over the vast majority of her body, hugging herself underneath for warmth due to the weather, although not a shiver came from her. As he speaks she would tense as pain overtakes her face before she returns to a blank stare.
“You’re probably right. . .”
She says in a whisper as she stands, with the coat draped over her, hugging the plush underneath. She takes a step towards the way Jorge went. Not moving to stop the girl, Fischer takes in the air for another moment, before falling in step three paces behind her. Hidden just beyond the doorway, Jorge sees the girl coming, and celebrates, mostly on the inside. Mostly. With no momentum in her pace she would fully move to where she saw the Prince depart, only moving in a pace that would not rush her nor expedite her. With no momentum in her pace she would fully move to where she saw the Prince depart. Moving further away from the door, Jorge excitedly whispers to one of the guards.
"Hey, run to the cafeteria and grab a pair of hot coco's and be quick about it."
The man scoffs at the prince, and doesn't move, before he adds
"please?"
Rolling his eyes, the man walks away. The girl’s eyes sullenly themselves on the Prince as her blank face gets a tiny but happy smile on it as she approaches, taking off the coat and presenting it back to Prince.
“I believe this is property of the crown?”
Unable to truly hide the childlike glee he felt for actually breaking through, he puts on a mock formal stance and deepens his voice.
"Why yes my lady, it is."
He takes a deep formal bow, before snickering to himself. Straightening up, he says
"I'm glad you decided to take me up on my offer, let's go talk."
A light blush would place itself on the girl's cheeks as she hands him the coat, after which Jorge then leads the girl to the 5th floor of the hospital. After a short walk through what, before the incident would have been an office space for the hospital, was a lounge area with a grand window looking out into the city. The girl does not say a word the entire way, her eyes remain on the floor and nothing else. Sitting down on one of the couches just in time for the guard to find them with a pair of warm drinks in his hand, he says to him.
"Thank you, good sir."
In a tone bordering far too close to sarcasm for the agent's liking. Instead of saying anything, he gave the prince the pair of drinks and could be herd mumbling something to the effect of 'fuckin rug rats' as he walked away. Handing the girl one of the warm beverages, he says
"Here, this should warm up the insides. It's just as important as being warm outside"
The girl stares at the two’s interaction with dead eyes until she is snapped back to reality by the Prince, absentmindedly taking the cup as she remained standing, only saying.
“I am not thirsty.”
"But it's hot chocolate, what kinda kid doesn't like hot chocolate on the first snow?”
He complains, and then cringes when he realizes how he's sounding
"Nevermind then. Are you doing ok? I know a lots happened, but-"
There's a long pause as his mind works overtime to find the right words
"I want you to know we are going to find the bad man. I promise."
The girl only nods her head to the Prince’s question, not responding verbally to any of his questions. On hearing the prince’s declaration, a tiny smile would turn to a visible frown as she broke eye contact with the prince and washed the blush out of her cheeks. Continuing he says
"I know you haven't said anything to the people around the hospital. Know you can talk to me. Agent Fischer has a lead on the bad man, but we need your help to stop him"
After taking a sip of his drink, he concludes firmly
"Maybe you feel like a waste of breath because you never gave yourself a chance. I want to give you that chance, but you have to let me in."
Only three words would echo out from the girl as she would dismissively put her cup on the nearby table as she slowly turns her head to look at the city sprawl that is visible to her, seeming to ponder on something as she suspiciously squints at the urban scape before taking a few steps over to lean against a concrete support pillar, sliding down it as she sits down on the floor, her entire frame hidden behind it as her eyes falls back on Jorge. Following suit, he gets up, and sits directly across from her, saying
"You remind me of my younger brother in a lot of ways. He's as stubborn as they come too."
Sighing, he continues.
"The first step of letting me in might be telling me your name. Or giving me something other then a stare. I'm not gonna leave you alone until I get something"
“That’s a very personal thing you are asking.”
She says as she rests her head on her plushie, which sits on her needs to give padding as she takes this time to rest, closing her eyes for several seconds before opening back up.
"A name? A name is very personal?"
He scoffs.
"Do people where you're from just walk around nameless? No. There's no country around like that"
He says definitively.
“My name is not a very nice name. It is a mean name.”
She repeats herself from their first interaction, saying somewhat sternly, wanting the subject to be dropped. Not budging, or relenting, he responds.
"Well I need something. My dad doesn't even know I snuck back into the city so I got all day."
From a distance, Fischer can be heard exclaiming 'What!?'
It finally looks like she is about to give in as she lets out a sigh and begins to draw her breath so she may answer, however, hearing the agent from the distance annoyance and anger takes hold of her as she angrily looks at the direction she heard it from.
“I see how it is. . .”
She says, as if learning a truth she did not wish to be exposed to. Crossing his arms, he says
"You've been shadowed by bodyguards since the second time someone tried to kill you. I don't see how that has any bearing."
Thinking for a moment he says.
"Fine. I don't need your name. I like the one I gave you better anyway. But I'm not leaving until you tell me something about you."
“I saw family at the mall. If I were to speak I would be betraying them.”
She explains as she pushes herself against the pillar even more so, attempting to get a little distance between her and the prince. Throwing his hands up in frustration he says
"So what, you get to learn a bunch of things about me but I can't learn anything about you? What kinda conversation is that?"
Getting little deflated, but trying to hide it, he says
"I thought you would talk to me. Your face lit up last time we spoke. It was adorable, and showed me you wanted to get to know me not for some political reason, but because you genuinely wanted to know. But fine, If you really don't wanna talk to me, I'll leave you alone."
He starts to get up to leave. The girl’s body language starts to get defensive and tense as the tone of the conversation begins to escalate. She darts her eyes away in shame as Jorge bemoans the girl’s action that sought to shame her into revealing something. Her face wrinkles and then is genuinely taken by fear as he begins to get up and leave. It was then when she would suddenly grab the Prince by the hand and weakly pull her over until they were barely a inch away. Stopping dead in his tracks, he allows the child to pull him closer. He says nothing, but looks at her both expectant and curious
“Grandfather gave me the name of Is.”
She says, her voice shaky as if she was distraught over such a simple fact before she lets go of the Prince’s arms, feeling manipulated by Jorge, her eyes falling back to the floor. Not letting the girl go, he takes both the girl's hands into his own. Whispering back with a great big smile
"It's nice to meet you. I still like my name better."
As Jorge takes the girl’s hands into the comfort of his own, her face is completely cherry red as a genuine smile glows greatly on her face at the attention she had achieved from the prince, clearly flustered. Letting go of her, he says
"Well, Now that we know each other a little, maybe I can get to know you better at a later date. For now-"
he's cut off as Fischer walks over phone in hand. The girl’s face would be overtaken by fear as a tear begins to formulate on her eyes as the Prince lets go of her hands, scared of losing the affection given to her.
“You. You are going to explain to your father, exactly what you did 'your majesty'"
He says, clearly furious.
"I-"
Jorge begins to say
"No. I'm not taking another ass chewing for you, your majesty. So please, call him."
Fischer says with venom dripping from his voice. sighing, the prince moans
"Fine."
Turning his attention to the girl, he says
"Give me five, ten minutes tops. Just gotta smooth some things over with my old man, then I intend to continue our chat"
With that he walks off, dialing the phone as he does. She would sharply exhale as Fischer barges in and resume her closed off mood as she watches the two argue. She would only bury her head back into the soft fur of her plush sleep as the Prince abandons her, absorbing her tears. Fischer looks to the girl, and says
"For what it's worth, I wasn't listening. He wasn't lying either. We have a lead on the bad man, and we are actively working to catch him."
The girl raises her teared face as she turns in the opposite direction of the Prince and begins walking to the other exit, attempting to ignore Fischer. Seeing her go, Jorge swears to himself, but remains on the phone and continues to walk out of the room. Fischer does nothing to stop her, and merely keys his radio and lets it be known that she might try to run again. Just then the girl stops before the door, staring out the window towards the city before a bullet comes crashing through the glass and sends shards past the girl. She seems startled by the event, being stunned there for a second before pushing the door open and jumping to the safety of the adjacent hallway. As the glass shatters, Fischer yells
“SONOFABITCH.”
Before he can speak into his radio there is the loud report of a rifle from the roof, the counter sniper teams putting in work. Yelling into his radio, fischer says
“Lock the building down, secure the girl! SAT I want your asses in the building where the shooter was yesterday!”
The radio then comes alive with reports, and SAT operations come screaming around the block in their MRAPs, intent on storming the building where the shooting came from. Fischer then runs after the girl, drawing his sidearm. Once breaking into the hallway the girl immediately darts down the hall, heading straight for the stairs, pushing through the door and sprinting down the steps with intent to go to the ground floor. Easily catching up to her on the stairs, Fischer bellows
“Stop! Where do you think you're going! It's not safe out there”
The girl does not respond, only darting to the ground floor exit and then running to the opposite way of the front door. Outside, a drone overhead observes the incident, and the SAT team begins to surround the building where the shot supposedly came from. Police and office agents are swarming the scene, looking for even the slightest hint of the assassin. Running past several agents now rushing to lock the building down from intrusion from the outside, she easily slips past anyone that could have prevented her from leaving. For his part, Fischer was stopped momentarily as his radio chattered nonstop from the SAT team entering the building, drawing his attention to coordinating efforts so the shooter doesn't get away. Eventually, he calls out on the radio
"The girl is trying to run out in the middle of all this shit, back door, someone grab her"
He then takes off in the direction she went in an attempt to catch up. Meanwhile, Jorge sits far away from any windows, under armed guard. While momentarily scared by the sniper shot, he is more concerned by hearing that the girl is attempting to go towards the danger over his guard's radio. The girl slams herself against the back of a back door, pushing out into the cold breeze of the outside as she immediately looks around. The back door opens up to a small employee parking lot, with a 6ft concrete wall surrounding it. On one corner of the parking lot, lies a driveway running parallel to the lot, presumably how it is accessed by cars. Fischer comes tearing out of the door, and hesitates a few steps once he realizes he may be in the sniper’s sights. Shaking it off, he calls
“What are you doing? Are you trying to get killed?”
“How are you the first one to reach me?”
She ponders in her constantly improving Galvarian, looking up at the agent with a dead look in her eyes. Attempting to scoop her up so he can get out of the kill zone, he says sarcastically
“I ran track in high-school. Now come on before that ba-“
He stops himself from saying ‘bastard’ and finishes with
“-bad man takes another shot at us”
He is panting from sprinting to catch up with the girl.
“I am guessing you haven’t run a lot since your days in schooling, dear Fischer?”
She asks in a half serious tone as she attempts to hop out of the scoop.
“You always speak of them so disingenuously.”
She finishes, continuing her squirming. Realizing the girl was attempting to escape from his grasp, even as he was trying to save her life, he tightens his grip to ensure she can't slip away, and charges through the backdoor of the hospital. Thinking to himself as he did so
'A week ago she couldn't speak the language, and now she's using it to mock me'
Coming to a stop inside the hospital, he sets her down, and places his hands on her shoulders, preventing her from running.
"One, you're fast for a girl your age. and secondly-"
He gets serious for a moment.
"If you can give me one good reason why you desperately need to leave, that doesn't involve helping out your would be murder, I might just let you go in exchange for some answers."
Rounding the corner at the far end of the hall is Prince Jorge, who, on hearing of the situation, came running to see if the girl was unharmed.
“If I leave then no one here has to get hurt.” The girl says bluntly with little to no emotion in her voice as she tries to shift around her feet and shake off the Agent’s hold on her shoulders.
“It is very nice of you to try to protect me, but it will only get you hurt.”
She then closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side.
“I’ll be fine, Office Man!”
She said with emotion returning to her voice. Fischer stares sadly at the girl for several moments, opening and closing his mouth several times to try to speak, but can't. Finally just as the prince is catching up with them, he says, getting down on her level
"It's our job, to catch people like that, and we all know the danger in it. We accept it."
Straightening up, he says to the Prince
"Why in god's name are you here, your majesty"
he adds in 'your majesty’ as an afterthought, seemingly forgetting it in his aggravation. Looking slightly insulted, the young man responds.
"I wanted to make sure she was ok. Just because I'm royalty doesn't mean I'm fragile!"
He says, almost whining, rather than out of anger. Getting angrier now, the agent responds
"Because you stupid child, the man we are dealing with is a highly trained killer for hire. The girl has been a seemingly difficult target for him to hit, so what's to say he doesn't switch up his target? What's to say he doesn't try bagging the hot headed prince who keeps exposing himself to danger?"
“It wasn’t Karla’s job to die.”
Is all that comes from the girl as she attempts to storm off back to the back door during the two’s argument. One of Fischer's hands is preoccupied gesturing at the Prince, but the other remains firmly on her shoulder, holding her in place. Fischer has been stressed to his breaking point over the last several days, and it is finally showing. After a tense moment, he adds
"Your majesty"
Jorge doesn't respond, and recoils from the rant. He looks genuinely hurt, looking down at the floor, ashamed. Looking at the girl, he says
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened before, I didn't intend to betray your trust. and I'm glad you're unharmed."
He gives a proper royal bow, and turns to walk away.
Very weak and quiet.
“Thank you. . .”
Is all that the girl is able to ring out before she looks down to the floor, a bit ashamed that Jorge was worried about her, as she stops trying to escape Fischer’s emplacement. Jorge doesn't seem to hear the girl's faint words as he walks away. After the Prince is safely out of earshot, Fischer pats the girl's shoulder reassuringly, and says
"Let's get you back to your room. That's quite enough excitement for one day, I think."
Fischer starts to say something else, before an agent comes running down the hall, shouting
"Sir! We got something, you're needed in the situation room right away!"
Looking down at the girl, and relaxing his grip, he says
"Can I trust you to make it back to your room by yourself? Or do I have to handcuff you to an agent?"
Because of his all-business demeanor, it's hard to tell if he's joking or not. The girl says nothing in response, and sighing at the girl's cold shoulder Fischer says
"Not in the mood for jokes, can't say I blame you. Would it make you feel better if we showed you our efforts to catch the bad man? I can take you there if you promise not to do something rash again."
Underneath the layer of stoicism, Fischer cracks momentarily, and says in as sympathetic a voice as could be mustered.
"I can begin to understand your sorrow, Karla is not the first colleague I've had to bury. Nothing fills the void left behind, but moving on, and catching those responsible is the next best thing, In my opinion."
Returning to his stoic ways, he stiffens, and thinks to himself.
'Damnit. I'm getting too soft for this assignment'
“I don’t know. . .”
Is all the girl manages to say as her body language becomes less stiff, however this was clearly not from relaxing, but rather from an exhausting sadness that was apparent in her dark brown eyes as she continued looking down at the ground. Taking his hand away from the girl, he says
"I leave the choice up to you."
He takes a few steps away from the girl, before stopping and half turning saying
"Though I will say, if I was a betting man, I'd wager the Prince hasn't left the hospital premises. He'll likely stay for a while, to avoid the wrath of his father."
Leaving a hand out slightly, he keeps walking. The girl visibly ponders on her options for several seconds before running past the Agent in order to find the Prince. Watching her go, Fischer has the slightest smile creep over his stoic face, as he continues to the meeting.
At the meeting
In the crowded conference room, Fischer makes his way to a group of men huddled around the table that dominates the room. A dull murmur fills the room with white noise that doesn't dissipate until Fischer pushes past the men around the table. The source of the buzz in the room lies in two items sitting on the table. A Macmillan TAC-50 sniper rifle along with a cell phone sits on the table, and Fischer sucks in a breath when he sees them.
"Tell me we can get into the phone"
He says, his excitement palpable. The room goes quiet, and one man nods in the affirmative "Excellent. And the rifle?"
He asks, gesturing to the weapon
"Found in the sniper's nest, looks like he left in a hurry. Counter fire was a floor off, but it looks like he was long gone by the time the SAT team got there because of it. The cell phone was found in the hallway outside the room, not likely to be a discard."
One of the agents in the rooms reports. Fischer claps his hands together excitedly, and without much delay the phone is hooked up to a specialized laptop that another agent brings into the room. Not long after that, data from the phone pours into the laptop, and the room cheers at one particular note. Text messages from the shooter show he'll be at a location outside the city for a dead drop pickup in 3 days time. The hospital is quickly abuzz with activity as Fischer works tirelessly for the next 48 hours attempting to get a raid force together. While this flurry of planning goes on, the UAVs assigned to the case maintain a silent watch of the RV point the shooter is supposed to be at, while others are brought in to comb the surrounding area. The mood of the task force is focused, yet jovial. Every small success over the next 48 hours is met with cheers from the men tirelessly working on the case. They had there target, and it was time to end his campaign of terror.
While Fischer is briefed in his meeting, Is finds herself back by her room. Inside, sitting on the bed, is Prince Jorge. He is slumped over, with his head lolling to one side, resting on the headboard. The slow rise and fall of his chest, along with his slight snore makes it clear he has fallen asleep. The bags visible under his closed eyes tell a tale: he likely hasn't slept much since he snuck away, and the excitement of the sniper was the last straw that sapped his energy away. The girl’s face lights up as she finds the prince asleep in her own room. With a few seconds of hesitation she would take a step into a room, her feet light and the sound for the most part unheard by all who could potentially hear it. After another attempt she gently closed the door behind her to reduce the noise profile she emitted. With much care she began to make her way to her bed and climbed on it before she gently tried to nuzzle her way into the Prince’s chest, taking his arm and trying to wrap it around herself for the comfort of another human’s presence. There is a moment where it seem the movement of his arm woke him up as his snoring stops, but instead, he remains soundly asleep. After a moment, his arm goes from limply hanging around the girl to a hug when he shifts slightly in his sleep. to punctuate just how asleep he was, his snoring starts back up, this time more consistent, but at a low volume. As he shifts, his head rolls to land on top of the girl's head. After she is settled in with the weight of Jorge’s head bearing down on her she would quickly drift off to sleep, treasuring the moment until her eyes fell close.
As the pair sleeps, a motorcade of cars comes screaming up to the front entrance of the castle. Out from a car in the center steps out a man in his early 40s, with sandy blonde hair meticulously groomed and combed over to the right side of his head. A well trimmed beard covers the lower half of his face, while a mustache obscures most of his upper lip. He wears a suit adorned with a pin that has a mighty beast emblazoned on it, the crest of the Galavarian royal line. His piercing blue eyes seem to part the sea of guards around him. He quickly moves to the back passenger door of the vehicle, opening the door and reaching a hand inside. a gloved hand reaches back, and a woman in her late 30s steps out of the car. Her auburn hair flows in curls down to her shoulders, and she wears a vibrant red overcoat with gold buttons glistening down its front. It contrasts well with the King's navy blue suit. Striding into the hospital, Fischer quickly rushes to meet them, and manages to do so in the lobby of the building. He quickly gets down on one knee, and bows his head.
"My liege, I had no idea you would be making a visit today, you honor us with your presence. Had Mr.-"
He is cut off when the king speaks, his words cold as ice, and laced with venom.
"Spare the pleasantries. My son, is he here?"
Fischer gets up off his knee, and nervously clears his throat
"Yes, your majesty. He arrived earlier today. I was going to send word-"
He is cut off again as the king moves to walk past him, saying
"Take me to him"
Quickly following behind him, Fischer says
"Absolutely, right this way, your majesty."
As the trio makes it up to the room, at the head of a posse of stern looking guards, Fischer silently curses his situation. Once they reach the door to the room, he opens it, and quickly steps aside. Stepping ahead of her husband, Hannah Brandt gives a small gasp, before quickly giving her husband a shushing gesture. Moving into the room with his wife, Albert would immediately see why his wife had shushed him, before he even said anything. On the hospital bed lie his son, soundly asleep with what looked to be a girl no older than 10 also in a deep slumber in his arms. The sight confused him, and dammed the raging river of anger he was ready to unleash on his son.
"Explain."
he hisses back to the agent in charge. Stepping forward, Fischer says in an uncharacteristically sheepish tone
"Ahem. That would be the patient your majesty. Code named 'Lambda' in the official reporting."
Not taking his eyes off the girl, he says
"And why is my son in bed with her?"
Before the agent could reply, Hannah speaks up
"The poor thing must have been terrified from the day's events, and it looks like our Jorgie took to comforting the frail thing. I think it's sweet."
She says, beaming at the still sleeping form of her son.
"Ah, yes. Well. The Prince came to this room to sleep off the day's events, as you know we had a shooting incident here. All under control now..."
Fischer adds nervously
"And it appears the patient, who seems inextricably calm in the presence of the young master, also found rest in his company.”
He finishes.
A soft smile comes to Hannah's lips
"See dear? Our boy is all grown up, taking on delicate matters such as this"
She says, grabbing onto the man's arms, forcing the King's gaze away from the pair on the bed and onto her emerald green eyes. The king sighs heavily, and says
"He still directly defied me by returning here, and could have gotten himself killed. You think I should reward such behavior?"
Patting her husband on the cheek, she says in a sweet tone
"Punishment can be given in due time, my love. Right now, the main goal should be resolving this issue quickly, so we can return you to matters of state."
Thinking for a moment, the man relents, and says
"Fine. Let us at least wake the boy and figure out what's so damned important that he would put himself in such danger"
Placing a hand on her husband's chest, in a motion for him to stay back, Hannah walks forward, and sits on a chair placed next to the bed, and gives the teenager a few pats on the face. In a low voice, attempting to not wake up the girl in his arms, she calls his name several times. He stirs, and his eyes slowly open, and then seem to widen in shock.
"Mom-"
He croaks out, and his eyes fall on the figure of his father standing ominously behind her
"Father."
His mind races as he quickly assesses the situation, and one thought screams above the rest
'Shit!'
As with all things the girl is quicker on the draw, stirring awake as she hears the various voices in the room. Despite this disturbance she attempts to make it seem as if she was still asleep, bordering on waking up. As she hears Jorge’s voice in particular she sleepily melts further into him until she would be a human puddle on the bed. In the silence between talkings she would slither off the bed, unintentionally creating a thud. Jorge jumps, when he realizes he is not alone in the bed, aiding in the girl's fall.
"Oh!"
He exclaims as she falls. He cringes when he hears the thud, and looks to his mother, saying in a somewhat timid voice
"I can explain everything?"
Piecing the boy with eyes of a hawk, Hannah responds
"I'm sure you can sweetheart. You know how stressful these last few years have been on your father, surely you wouldn't add to it for no reason, yes?"
Softening her gaze, and letting the question hang in the air for a moment, she looks down at the girl. Saying in a friendly tone.
"And who might you be, little missy?”
She questions, offering a hand to help the girl stand up. The girl sleepily rubs the crust from her eyes as she looks up at Hannah. The girl hears her voice, but is seemingly enraptured by the green eyes of the Queen, not speaking as she just looked up at her as if she was a stunned puppy. Giving the girl a smile with the warmth to melt ice caps, the woman coo's
"You poor thing, you must be so disoriented."
Looking to her son, she says
"Jorge, be a dear and help the girl up."
Without hesitating, Jorge picks the girl up and places her on the bed, near the front of it, and away from him. Continuing, Hannah asks sweetly.
"So why has a fragile thing like you taken refuge in bed with my son?"
The girl grabs a pillow and attempts to bury her face in it, clearly embarrassed by the sudden introduction of the Queen into this and her insistence to interrogate her, hoping that if she doesn’t say anything she would eventually be left alone. The woman reaches out and places a hand on the girl's head, petting it gently. She says, smiling, not leaving her face
"Such a shy one. I'm not cross with you, young one. My husband and I originally came to collect our son, as he snuck back into the city to get back here. I can see why, you're simply adorable."
Jorge cringes, and attempts to sink back into the bed, in an attempt to retreat from the steely gaze of his father. The girl seems to instinctively flinch as she feels the pet on the head, an audible “Eep!” coming from her as she would hug the pillow tighter as she actually began to speak in Hebrew, the pace of speaking quick and her breath barely keeping up with herself as her tone seemed to be a mix of excitement and happiness. Giggling at the strange girl's display, Hannah looks to her son, and says
"I take it you've been looking after the poor miss here after her ordeal? Is that why you went through all the trouble of getting back here?"
Clearing his throat, and trying his best to wipe the fear off his face, Jorge responds
"Yes mother, I've tried to, but have thus far been unsuccessful. Being grounded and all has made it difficult to visit the hospital, and when I do they are usually very-"
Hannah cuts her son off with a hand, to prevent him from rambling.
"I understand. I think we can arrange for you to visit more often, can't we dear?"
Sighing, the king rubs his beard and says.
"I suppose we could. Has he made much progress with her?"
He looks to Fischer for an answer, who also looking quite nervous, exchanges a glance with the Prince. The stare is of mutual pleading, that says 'please don't throw me under the bus to save your own ass'. Seeing that they were on the same page, Fischer puts on his usual stoic demeanor and states.
"Quite helpful your majesty. Your son has an excellent ability with people, and has made great strides with the young miss. We didn't have so much of a name before he came on."
He trails off and looks at Jorge, not looking to make his task force look any more incompetent. Hannah claps her hands together in excitement, and says
"Oh wonderful! Do tell us the girl's name, as she seems to be a bit shy right now, won't you dear Jorge?"
Jorge looks to the girl, and to his mother, and back to the girl. Unsure if to say the name she had given him.
After a few moments, Hannah says playfully
"Well don't tell me you've lost your tongue as well, out with it already. I bet her name is something beautiful, to fit a cutie like you."
She finishes, looking to Is, Jorge says, clearing his throat
"Is, this is my mother, the Queen. The man behind her is my father, the King."
“It’s not a very nice name. . .”
Is all that is able to come out from the girl as she doesn’t raise her head from the pillow, only squeezing on tighter at the betrayal of trust.
Jorge rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"She doesn't like it very much, apparently. I tried calling her Schneehase instead, but I don't think she likes that very much either."
Hannah frowns, and the King begins to study the girl more intently, seeming to temporarily forget his aggravation with his son. Speaking up, Albert says
"Well, if that's her name, that's her name. I'd welcome you to my kingdom, but I feel as though your stay here couldn't hardly be classified as welcoming, I do apologize. You're accent, is it Michese?"
Snapping her fingers, Hannah adds
"No dear, I think it's further west, Khoslol perhaps?"
The girl does not answer, instead retreating back to as close to Jorge as she is allowed for comfort as she maintains her head in her pillow. Huffing in dissatisfaction with the girl's silence, the King says to Jorge.
"I was led to believe you had made progress. Clearly I was mistaken. Your propensity for lying is almost as vast as the empty space between your ears. Come boy! we are leaving now, and I'll be damned if you see the light of day outside of looking through your window for the next month for what you've done."
Hannah gives a sad smile to the girl, and says
"Say goodbye to your friend Jorge, maybe if you took your studies more seriously distasteful things like this wouldn't have to happen. It was wonderful to meet you, young miss"
Getting up, Hannah motions for her son to follow. He looks dejected, and full of dread for what sort of punishment his parents will lay out for him once he's back home. He gives the girl an awkward pat on the head, and says with a hollow ring to his voice.
"Bye, Schneehase"
He starts to get up off the bed, to follow his parents, who are now closer to the door. Fischer has done his best impersonation of a wall, to avoid catching any of the ire being thrown about the room. He looks like he would rather be boiling in a pit of lava than be present for this conversation for a moment longer. The girl begins to visibly tense up and starts to shake as the tension in the room clearly begins to rise, being paralyzed in fear for the vast majority of it. As soon as she felt the springs of the bed rise upwards as Jorge made his way off of it she would let go of her pillow, letting it fall onto the mattress as she quickly hugged onto his arm, not wanting him to go.
“My father was a sailor in the KPPR Navy. . .”
She said, choked up with emotion as visible tears were in her eyes. Jorge stops, and somehow manages to look surprised at the girl's attempts to keep him there. He gives his parents a half hearted 'see?' gesture
"she um... She speaks. Sometimes"
He says nervously. His father remains unconvinced, and says dismissively
"There's nothing you can do for a traumatized girl, I won't ask you again. Come, we are leaving"
Hannah's heart looks like it shatters on the spot seeing the girl's pitiful display. She whispers something to Fischer who nods enthusiastically. The girl hugs tighter to Jorge’s arm as her eyes become enveloped in tears completely as she struggles to even get a few words out.
“Please. . . don’t take him away.”
Hannah Brandt looks like she may burst, and dive across the room to console the child. Instead, Fischer, much to his own internal chagrin, reinserts himself into the conversation.
"Ahem. Your majesty, young Prince Brandt here is the only person to successfully draw information from this patient. I would request you stay your judgment, until after the case is closed. For purely matters of national security, of course."
Looking to the girl, and then to the agent, there is a crack in the King's steely visage.
"While I am well within my rights to deny my son the privilege of working on this case, I do believe that this child finds some form of comfort in him, god only knows how. I would be remiss to further disrupt the girl's state by removing him from this situation. Tell me, agent Fischer. Would you stake your career on my son being a vital part of your case?"
There is a notable pause before Fischer reluctantly replies.
"Yes, your majesty. I think my medical staff would agree that interacting with the young master will go a long way in normalizing the girl's mental state."
Shaking his head, the King turns and walks away, saying
"Then so be it. I expect you to come home by supper every night, boy."
Hannah walks over to the girl, and gives her hair a light ruffle, whispering.
"It was nice to meet you young one, please do keep my boy out of trouble, think you can do that for me?"
Before following her husband out the door. When Fischer is sure they are gone, he practically collapses, and says out loud.
"Jesus. I think I just crawled out of my own grave. I need a drink."
He also walks out of the room. Once they are alone, Jorge collapses onto the bed, before shooting back up and giving the girl a hug, exclaiming.
"Phew! That was a close one! I thought for sure Father was going to give me the lashing of a lifetime for sure. I owe you one Schneehase!"
Letting her go awkwardly, he says
"Oh, sorry. Uh. Don't mention your dad was in the navy to my younger brother by the way, he'll never shut up about it, and pester you with questions if you do."
“I wanna go back to sleep.”
She says as she buries her face into Jorge. Looking past her, out the window, Jorge see's that it's still light out. Giving the girl a quizzical look, he says
"It's a little early for sleep, no?"
Thinking about it for a moment, he continues.
"Who am I to judge, I'd still be asleep at midday some days if it weren't for those wakeup calls. It's been an exciting day, I'll leave you to rest."
He gets off the bed in one quick motion, and starts to head for the door. The girl quickly yanks him back in the direction of the bed, her eyes still buried into his shirt.
“Stay.”
She pleads, still deeply emotional and sounding scared. Not wanting to upset the girl any more than she already was, and in a mood to do her a good turn in exchange from bailing him out of being locked in his room for the next month, he sits back down on the bed. Leaning his entire back against the headboard, he sits stiffly, and looks awkward doing it.
"Well, it's the least I could do to make you feel a little better. Sorry for giving my parents your name, once again I have betrayed your trust. I hope I can earn it back sometime soon."
He says, ending on a mournful note.
H. Wolf memorial hospital
The last few days had been rough for the members of the joint task force. Endlessly processing reports related to the shooting, and dealing with the loss of two of their own. For Charlie, this meant being the sole caretaker of a now catatonic little girl. For the first 48 hours, he kept contact to a minimum, but pressure from agent Fischer was forcing him to do a daylight visit. Walking into the room, he discovers the girl is still asleep, at nearly 1 in the afternoon. Prodding her he says
"Hey. It's time to get up"
Seeing the plate of barely eaten food from the night before he sighs heavily, and tosses it in the trash. he continues.
"Time to wake up and eat."
He continues to poke and shake her until he gets results. Entering the room did not wake the girl, like how it would have in the previous weeks before the incident. The girl remained sound asleep at the first prod or so it seemed, only a sleepy murmur coming from the girl after a couple seconds, lost in her dreams. The second poke and further shake would find results however, groaning in a low voice into her pillow, tossing to the point where she was facing up but with a pillow pushed to cover her face while her other hand kept the plush to her heart. Not relenting, the man grabs the pillow, but does not move it, and says.
“I’ll give you one chance to get up by yourself, then I’m gonna do it my way.”
The girl would mumble something completely incoherent before the girl turned her head over to immerse her face in the pillow that was previously at the back of her head, wanting to return to sleep. Grunting, the man mumbles
“Hard way it is.”
He leaves the girl for around two minutes, leaving the room. On returning, he carries a spray bottle full of water. Walking up to the bed, he starts to rip away the covers and spray her with water. Moving for the pillow, he says.
“Up. You need to eat, you’ve slept the last two days away”
In the two minutes she would once again be at the edge of slumber, nuzzling into her warm covers and blanket, wrapping her arm around the pillow that supported her head as she laid on her side with another pillow in between her legs. Then, that all was stolen away from her as she was exposed to the cold air of the hospital’s ventilation in full, not even with a second to respond she was sprayed like a household pet. The first couple sprays were all that was needed to bring her to sit up with no support, her eyes barely open yet doing a puppy dog stare at Charlie as she hugged onto her plush, scared and seeming as if she was gonna cry. Getting a look at the man's face tells a story. His eyes hold heavy bags, and it appears as if he had been crying not long ago. His face is stony, and his voice holds no emotion.
“You need to eat.”
He repeats monotone.
“If not because you don’t wanna get stuck with an IV, do it for her”
He says pointing to the plushie. At the mention of Karla’s memory the girl begins to cry into her plushie, her words barely distinguishable due to it.
“I- I. I am not hungry.”
Not moving, or changing his tone from the monotone it has been, he asks
"Are you not hungry, or are you sad and don't want to eat? If it's the latter, that's not healthy, and will do nothing but make you sadder."
The girl uncomfortably shuffles as she brings the pillow up as a barrier in between herself and the nurse. The plushie pokes out from the top as it brushes her chin.
“I don’t know. . .”
She says half heartedly, her emotions unknown to herself. Softening his expression slightly, he sighs, and says.
"It's hard, I know. I've worked with Karla for the better part of 5 years. She really helped me out of a bad place. I know grief, and I know what you're going through. So when I say, 'you need to eat' I mean it from a good place."
“Why was she so nice?”
The girl asks as her lip quivers with emotion. She hugs the pillow further, thinking on what the nurse had relayed to her. Rubbing his chin, which now held stubble from days of not shaving, he replies.
"Beyond it being her job? Probably because you reminded her of her own kid. He's around your age."
Rubbing the back of his neck, he continues
"Karla was also always a sap. She dealt with the public facing side of this place, she wasn't really under the employ of the office. I am, but she never held it against me."
He says with an empty laugh. Some light would finally return to the girl’s face as she asks in an excitement that hasn’t been seen in the past two days, though it was much more tempered and meek than before.
“Are all mothers like Karla? What is his name?”
She was able to cease the faucet of tears from her eyes, rubbing them on the pillow as her grip on it lessened. Clearly uncomfortable with the way the conversation has turned, he says
"No. Everyone is different. Everyone has their own personality, and way of doing things. Like the difference between me and Karla"
A visible frown places itself on the girl’s face as the nurse uncomfortably explained. It looked almost as if hope drained from her soul.
“Oh. . . okay. I thought all moms are supposed to be nice.”
She said in a depressed tone as she almost slammed her face back into the pillow, disheartened.
"They are supposed to be, but-"
He silently curses his situation
"Not all people are good people. Like the bad man."
The girl did not respond as she soaked in her misery.
"Alright, well. I think I've done enough damage."
He mumbles sullenly. Patting the girl half heartedly on the head, he says
"I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you."
With that he leaves the room. After a few minutes alone the familiar messy haired head of Prince Jorge pokes into the room. His Majesty Jorge Brandt finds the mystery girl passed out on the bed, her covers and blankets having been tossed aside to the floor as she had her head on one pillow, another in-between her legs as she held close a plushie of a plus that seemed to be the recreation of a black faced white body four legged animal. Not wanting to disturb her sleep, pulls his head out of the room and closes the door. A few minutes later muffled whispering could be heard beyond the door, before it's once again quietly opened and an unwilling Prince is pushed into the room by Agent Fischer, who looks none too happy. He leaves the room with a huff, and the Prince takes a seat on a chair near the bed, busying himself with anything besides waking the sleeping child. After five minutes of idly waiting, he decides to pick the blanket up and drape it over the child. The extra weight placed on the child would be the straw that broke the child’s back, steering awake as she fell off the hospital bed and onto the ground, rubbing her eyes furiously as she lightly coughed. Jumping back by the sudden movement, the Prince gasps
"Crap!"
kneeling down to help her back onto the bed, he says
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you. Are you ok?"
Walking by because of the commotion Charlie calls
"I told you to just wake her up, your majesty! Left the spray bottle out and everything."
He doesn't wait for a reply, and keeps walking. The girl doesn't respond, only sullenly hugging onto the Prince and refusing to let go as she quietly yawns. Uncomfortable because of the girl's candor, but nonetheless seeing the need for her to let out some grief, he pats the girl's back.
"I herd about what happened"
he says sheepishly. Picking her up off the floor, he places her back into the bed, and takes a seat next to her.
"Your nurse tells me you're not eating. I thought eating something with me might change your mind"
He says, with some confidence coming back into his voice. The girl doesn't respond, once she could see again a very hidden smile placed itself upon her lips, only taking a action a grab the fallen plushie with one hand and stuff it in her neckline so it would not get lost as she once again latched herself to the prince, refusing to let go of quite possibly the only thing she thought she had left. Allowing the girl to hug him for a big longer, he finally clears his throat, and says
"So, erm. Some food?"
He motions to someone outside, and a pair of plates are brought in. On them sit a pair of sandwiches, along with a bag of potato chips. Laying a hand on the girl's shoulder, and attempting to get her attention he says
"Do you think we could sit on the bed and have some food?"
The girl did not respond to either prompt, only continuing to hug and even hug tighter as a hand fell on her shoulder. She would close her eyes and seek to try to fall back to sleep as she leaned her head deliriously on the prince. Not allowing her to fall back asleep, he doesn't fully break off the hug, but attempts to get down to her level
"Won't you please eat a little? I made it myself. We don't have to talk right now if you don't want to. But I'd like for you to eat a little something"
Instead of a protest or even more silence a single tired question would come from the girl, dodging the question.
“Do you have a mother?”
Happy he got her to say something, he drops his previous line of questioning, and responds
"Yes, I do."
He sits down on the bed, and takes one of the plates with him. Offering a hand to the girl, he says
"I'd be happy to talk more about my family if you'd join me."
He gives his best friendly smile, but it does little to hide the concern in his face.
“Is she nice?”
She asked as she remained unmoving towards the food or Jorge’s attempt to get her to stop trying to starve herself. Catching on quickly to her games, he says
"Yes, she is. Firm, but good to all of her children. Why do I get the feeling you are going to keep ignoring my question?"
Folding his arms, he says
"Because if that's the case, I'm just gonna eat my sandwich without you."
“Wow! That sounds cool!”
Her voice finally raises in excitement before she mellows out back down to reality.
“What question?”
"You're starving yourself. I ask you to eat and you ignore it."
He keeps his arms folded, and gives her a questioning look.
She would look away in shame before mumbling. “I am not hungry. . .”
"You are bad at lying. You haven't eaten anything in two days. Whatever coulda put the idea of starvation in your mind is beyond me."
He starts to eat his sandwich, and after a few moments says
"I know you're upset. There's nothing I can say to lessen it. But not eating doesn't make anything better."
“Can you tell me more about your mother?”
he starts to speak, and then stops himself. He continues to eat his sandwich, and pushes the other plate closer to the girl. He gives her a mischievous smile, weighed down by the sullen nature of the past days events. A visible frown would place itself on her face as she exclaims
“That is not fair!”
A smile comes over him, one he can’t seem to get rid of no matter how hard he tries. He tries to look understanding, but is clearly having fun with this. He shrugs his shoulders and looks at the girl expectantly. A defeated moan comes over the girl as she depressively leans her head on the prince she continues hugging, closing her eyes as her breathing slowed in rhythm. Still unable to wipe the smile off his face, he says
"You know, both me and my brothers used to fight dirty when we'd play together, so I know a thing or two about outwitting the stubborn"
He grabs the spray bottle from the nightstand, and makes gun sounds.
"Eyes open and reach for the sky missy. No falling asleep on my watch."
The girl doesn’t respond, lost in her thoughts as she tries to rest, not wanting this moment to end. Not relenting, he decides to set the spray bottle down on the bed so it's within arms reach. He then picks up her un eaten sandwich and starts to poke her in the mouth with it. Annoyed she would completely bury her face into the Prince’s shirt, clearly just wanting to rest. Huffing, he says
"I know you aren't that tired, you've slept the last few days away. I'm going to keep pestering you until you eat something."
Grabbing the spray bottle once again, he says
"I'm not afraid to use this"
He sloshes the water in the bottle around for effect. The girl would seem to say something, but it was completely incomprehensible due to her face being in his shirt and her seeming to speak in exhaustion. Depressing the trigger of the spray bottle, he squirts her head, and his shirt in the process. A very annoyed sound would come from the girl as she remained unmoving, attempting to run some of her hair on the prince to dry it. Finally, he would relent, only a little.
"If I let you sleep on me for a few minutes, do you promise to eat something after?"
‘sneaking into the capital against fathers wishes, and now letting a foreigner cling to me like a lost puppy. Father is going to have my ass for this.'
He thinks to himself. She would sheepishly nod her head up and down, not responding.
"Pinky promise?"
he says, extending a pinky finger. She would very hesitantly bring her head from the shirt of the prince and look at his pinky with great confusion.
"Right, different cultures"
he says rubbing the back of his neck
"Just keep to your word. You got 30 minutes."
He says, checking his watch.
She would tiredly push back into the hug, placing her head in his lap as she brought her feet from hanging off the side to lying on the bed. sitting back against the headboard, he tried to make himself comfortable. While she slept, he took the time to read everything written in the file attached to his bed, thinking to himself. ’What a strange girl.’
H. Wolf Memorial Hospital
November 16th
The late autumn’s cold winds brushed against the girl’s pale skin as she stared up at the cloudy skies as the snow slowly fell around her and on her, sprinkles on and off. Having barely even talked since the incident it was clear the girl was distraught, as her eyes slowly flickered open and closed as she found some serenity in the silence of the dying garden. Seasons come and seasons go, a simple truth of how all that is will wither. In a comically large hoodie the blades of glass were barely halted from prickling her skin as she laid on her back, quietly hugging the sheep plush close to her chest Standing at the entryway to the garden, Agent Fischer and Prince Jorge observe the girl.
"She say anything?"
Jorge asks, not taking his eyes off the distraught child
"Not a word."
Fischer responds distantly. Since the incident he has been working to the bone and back, and it's starting to wear on his common customs and curtsies. Not paying it any attention, Jorge says
"I'm going to go talk to her"
Jorge says more as a statement to the world then directed at Fischer specifically. ‘mmhmm’ was all he managed to say back, allowing himself to feel the cold snowy air, similarly to the mystery child. Walking over to her attempting to stand tall in the biting cold, he waits until he is but a few steps from the girl before saying anything.
"Are you ok?"
he says softly.
“Do you know why the snow is white?”
The girl asks in Galvarian as she continues to stare up at the sky. If it had not been for her making the inquiry it could have been assumed that she did not even register the Prince’s presence. In the next second as she waited for a reply she closed her eyes as she softly exhaled, barely even making any noise. Her tone had no emotion to it, as it seemed as if she was moments away from sleep. Not actually considering the question, he answers
"No, I don't. It's cold out here, and you're not dressed for this kind of weather, why don't you come inside. Let's have another chat"
“I thought not. It’s not a story that you would know. . .”
She said dismissively as she thought on the Prince’s words.
“You do not need to be here. The end draws closer as winter draws ever so closer. I’d be a waste of breath as I always am.”
She says the only other movement coming from her is her hugging the plushie tighter than ever before. The prince scowls at her words, and says
“That's a horrible thing to say about yourself. And completely untrue.”
His face softens.
“I’m not above ordering one of the goons around here to carry you inside, you know”
he says in a half hearted attempt at humor. At first she seems to not respond to the Prince’s words, only responding after what seems like five or six seconds.
“Everything that touches me dies. . .”
She seems to say to herself more than to the Prince. Although not moving her voice displays a deep sorrow. Getting flustered, the prince says
"But that wasn't your fault! how could you blame yourself for a killer's actions?"
The girl does not respond, simply continuing to lie on the grass in serene silence. Huffing, the prince exclaims
“Bah, you're stubborn, just like my brother. Fine. If you don’t wanna talk right now, don’t. But I’m not gonna give up-”
A hand falls on his shoulder, coming from Agent Fischer. He shakes his head solemnly, prompting Jorge to say
“-Fine. But I'm not letting you catch a cold out here.”
He takes his coat off, and drapes it over the child. It's warm, and made of wool. He then storms off. Sitting down in the snow next to the child Fischer, without looking at her, says
“He’s right, you know. And she wouldn’t want you catching a cold either. Don’t sully the memory of the dead with grief, celebrate the memories you had.”
His words are slow, and his voice is drained of most emotion from the events of the past several days. As soon as the Prince storms off the girl sits up and watches him leave, her eyes weakly following him all the way out. As the agent sits down next to her she pulls her knees up to her chest and pulls the coat over the vast majority of her body, hugging herself underneath for warmth due to the weather, although not a shiver came from her. As he speaks she would tense as pain overtakes her face before she returns to a blank stare.
“You’re probably right. . .”
She says in a whisper as she stands, with the coat draped over her, hugging the plush underneath. She takes a step towards the way Jorge went. Not moving to stop the girl, Fischer takes in the air for another moment, before falling in step three paces behind her. Hidden just beyond the doorway, Jorge sees the girl coming, and celebrates, mostly on the inside. Mostly. With no momentum in her pace she would fully move to where she saw the Prince depart, only moving in a pace that would not rush her nor expedite her. With no momentum in her pace she would fully move to where she saw the Prince depart. Moving further away from the door, Jorge excitedly whispers to one of the guards.
"Hey, run to the cafeteria and grab a pair of hot coco's and be quick about it."
The man scoffs at the prince, and doesn't move, before he adds
"please?"
Rolling his eyes, the man walks away. The girl’s eyes sullenly themselves on the Prince as her blank face gets a tiny but happy smile on it as she approaches, taking off the coat and presenting it back to Prince.
“I believe this is property of the crown?”
Unable to truly hide the childlike glee he felt for actually breaking through, he puts on a mock formal stance and deepens his voice.
"Why yes my lady, it is."
He takes a deep formal bow, before snickering to himself. Straightening up, he says
"I'm glad you decided to take me up on my offer, let's go talk."
A light blush would place itself on the girl's cheeks as she hands him the coat, after which Jorge then leads the girl to the 5th floor of the hospital. After a short walk through what, before the incident would have been an office space for the hospital, was a lounge area with a grand window looking out into the city. The girl does not say a word the entire way, her eyes remain on the floor and nothing else. Sitting down on one of the couches just in time for the guard to find them with a pair of warm drinks in his hand, he says to him.
"Thank you, good sir."
In a tone bordering far too close to sarcasm for the agent's liking. Instead of saying anything, he gave the prince the pair of drinks and could be herd mumbling something to the effect of 'fuckin rug rats' as he walked away. Handing the girl one of the warm beverages, he says
"Here, this should warm up the insides. It's just as important as being warm outside"
The girl stares at the two’s interaction with dead eyes until she is snapped back to reality by the Prince, absentmindedly taking the cup as she remained standing, only saying.
“I am not thirsty.”
"But it's hot chocolate, what kinda kid doesn't like hot chocolate on the first snow?”
He complains, and then cringes when he realizes how he's sounding
"Nevermind then. Are you doing ok? I know a lots happened, but-"
There's a long pause as his mind works overtime to find the right words
"I want you to know we are going to find the bad man. I promise."
The girl only nods her head to the Prince’s question, not responding verbally to any of his questions. On hearing the prince’s declaration, a tiny smile would turn to a visible frown as she broke eye contact with the prince and washed the blush out of her cheeks. Continuing he says
"I know you haven't said anything to the people around the hospital. Know you can talk to me. Agent Fischer has a lead on the bad man, but we need your help to stop him"
After taking a sip of his drink, he concludes firmly
"Maybe you feel like a waste of breath because you never gave yourself a chance. I want to give you that chance, but you have to let me in."
Only three words would echo out from the girl as she would dismissively put her cup on the nearby table as she slowly turns her head to look at the city sprawl that is visible to her, seeming to ponder on something as she suspiciously squints at the urban scape before taking a few steps over to lean against a concrete support pillar, sliding down it as she sits down on the floor, her entire frame hidden behind it as her eyes falls back on Jorge. Following suit, he gets up, and sits directly across from her, saying
"You remind me of my younger brother in a lot of ways. He's as stubborn as they come too."
Sighing, he continues.
"The first step of letting me in might be telling me your name. Or giving me something other then a stare. I'm not gonna leave you alone until I get something"
“That’s a very personal thing you are asking.”
She says as she rests her head on her plushie, which sits on her needs to give padding as she takes this time to rest, closing her eyes for several seconds before opening back up.
"A name? A name is very personal?"
He scoffs.
"Do people where you're from just walk around nameless? No. There's no country around like that"
He says definitively.
“My name is not a very nice name. It is a mean name.”
She repeats herself from their first interaction, saying somewhat sternly, wanting the subject to be dropped. Not budging, or relenting, he responds.
"Well I need something. My dad doesn't even know I snuck back into the city so I got all day."
From a distance, Fischer can be heard exclaiming 'What!?'
It finally looks like she is about to give in as she lets out a sigh and begins to draw her breath so she may answer, however, hearing the agent from the distance annoyance and anger takes hold of her as she angrily looks at the direction she heard it from.
“I see how it is. . .”
She says, as if learning a truth she did not wish to be exposed to. Crossing his arms, he says
"You've been shadowed by bodyguards since the second time someone tried to kill you. I don't see how that has any bearing."
Thinking for a moment he says.
"Fine. I don't need your name. I like the one I gave you better anyway. But I'm not leaving until you tell me something about you."
“I saw family at the mall. If I were to speak I would be betraying them.”
She explains as she pushes herself against the pillar even more so, attempting to get a little distance between her and the prince. Throwing his hands up in frustration he says
"So what, you get to learn a bunch of things about me but I can't learn anything about you? What kinda conversation is that?"
Getting little deflated, but trying to hide it, he says
"I thought you would talk to me. Your face lit up last time we spoke. It was adorable, and showed me you wanted to get to know me not for some political reason, but because you genuinely wanted to know. But fine, If you really don't wanna talk to me, I'll leave you alone."
He starts to get up to leave. The girl’s body language starts to get defensive and tense as the tone of the conversation begins to escalate. She darts her eyes away in shame as Jorge bemoans the girl’s action that sought to shame her into revealing something. Her face wrinkles and then is genuinely taken by fear as he begins to get up and leave. It was then when she would suddenly grab the Prince by the hand and weakly pull her over until they were barely a inch away. Stopping dead in his tracks, he allows the child to pull him closer. He says nothing, but looks at her both expectant and curious
“Grandfather gave me the name of Is.”
She says, her voice shaky as if she was distraught over such a simple fact before she lets go of the Prince’s arms, feeling manipulated by Jorge, her eyes falling back to the floor. Not letting the girl go, he takes both the girl's hands into his own. Whispering back with a great big smile
"It's nice to meet you. I still like my name better."
As Jorge takes the girl’s hands into the comfort of his own, her face is completely cherry red as a genuine smile glows greatly on her face at the attention she had achieved from the prince, clearly flustered. Letting go of her, he says
"Well, Now that we know each other a little, maybe I can get to know you better at a later date. For now-"
he's cut off as Fischer walks over phone in hand. The girl’s face would be overtaken by fear as a tear begins to formulate on her eyes as the Prince lets go of her hands, scared of losing the affection given to her.
“You. You are going to explain to your father, exactly what you did 'your majesty'"
He says, clearly furious.
"I-"
Jorge begins to say
"No. I'm not taking another ass chewing for you, your majesty. So please, call him."
Fischer says with venom dripping from his voice. sighing, the prince moans
"Fine."
Turning his attention to the girl, he says
"Give me five, ten minutes tops. Just gotta smooth some things over with my old man, then I intend to continue our chat"
With that he walks off, dialing the phone as he does. She would sharply exhale as Fischer barges in and resume her closed off mood as she watches the two argue. She would only bury her head back into the soft fur of her plush sleep as the Prince abandons her, absorbing her tears. Fischer looks to the girl, and says
"For what it's worth, I wasn't listening. He wasn't lying either. We have a lead on the bad man, and we are actively working to catch him."
The girl raises her teared face as she turns in the opposite direction of the Prince and begins walking to the other exit, attempting to ignore Fischer. Seeing her go, Jorge swears to himself, but remains on the phone and continues to walk out of the room. Fischer does nothing to stop her, and merely keys his radio and lets it be known that she might try to run again. Just then the girl stops before the door, staring out the window towards the city before a bullet comes crashing through the glass and sends shards past the girl. She seems startled by the event, being stunned there for a second before pushing the door open and jumping to the safety of the adjacent hallway. As the glass shatters, Fischer yells
“SONOFABITCH.”
Before he can speak into his radio there is the loud report of a rifle from the roof, the counter sniper teams putting in work. Yelling into his radio, fischer says
“Lock the building down, secure the girl! SAT I want your asses in the building where the shooter was yesterday!”
The radio then comes alive with reports, and SAT operations come screaming around the block in their MRAPs, intent on storming the building where the shooting came from. Fischer then runs after the girl, drawing his sidearm. Once breaking into the hallway the girl immediately darts down the hall, heading straight for the stairs, pushing through the door and sprinting down the steps with intent to go to the ground floor. Easily catching up to her on the stairs, Fischer bellows
“Stop! Where do you think you're going! It's not safe out there”
The girl does not respond, only darting to the ground floor exit and then running to the opposite way of the front door. Outside, a drone overhead observes the incident, and the SAT team begins to surround the building where the shot supposedly came from. Police and office agents are swarming the scene, looking for even the slightest hint of the assassin. Running past several agents now rushing to lock the building down from intrusion from the outside, she easily slips past anyone that could have prevented her from leaving. For his part, Fischer was stopped momentarily as his radio chattered nonstop from the SAT team entering the building, drawing his attention to coordinating efforts so the shooter doesn't get away. Eventually, he calls out on the radio
"The girl is trying to run out in the middle of all this shit, back door, someone grab her"
He then takes off in the direction she went in an attempt to catch up. Meanwhile, Jorge sits far away from any windows, under armed guard. While momentarily scared by the sniper shot, he is more concerned by hearing that the girl is attempting to go towards the danger over his guard's radio. The girl slams herself against the back of a back door, pushing out into the cold breeze of the outside as she immediately looks around. The back door opens up to a small employee parking lot, with a 6ft concrete wall surrounding it. On one corner of the parking lot, lies a driveway running parallel to the lot, presumably how it is accessed by cars. Fischer comes tearing out of the door, and hesitates a few steps once he realizes he may be in the sniper’s sights. Shaking it off, he calls
“What are you doing? Are you trying to get killed?”
“How are you the first one to reach me?”
She ponders in her constantly improving Galvarian, looking up at the agent with a dead look in her eyes. Attempting to scoop her up so he can get out of the kill zone, he says sarcastically
“I ran track in high-school. Now come on before that ba-“
He stops himself from saying ‘bastard’ and finishes with
“-bad man takes another shot at us”
He is panting from sprinting to catch up with the girl.
“I am guessing you haven’t run a lot since your days in schooling, dear Fischer?”
She asks in a half serious tone as she attempts to hop out of the scoop.
“You always speak of them so disingenuously.”
She finishes, continuing her squirming. Realizing the girl was attempting to escape from his grasp, even as he was trying to save her life, he tightens his grip to ensure she can't slip away, and charges through the backdoor of the hospital. Thinking to himself as he did so
'A week ago she couldn't speak the language, and now she's using it to mock me'
Coming to a stop inside the hospital, he sets her down, and places his hands on her shoulders, preventing her from running.
"One, you're fast for a girl your age. and secondly-"
He gets serious for a moment.
"If you can give me one good reason why you desperately need to leave, that doesn't involve helping out your would be murder, I might just let you go in exchange for some answers."
Rounding the corner at the far end of the hall is Prince Jorge, who, on hearing of the situation, came running to see if the girl was unharmed.
“If I leave then no one here has to get hurt.” The girl says bluntly with little to no emotion in her voice as she tries to shift around her feet and shake off the Agent’s hold on her shoulders.
“It is very nice of you to try to protect me, but it will only get you hurt.”
She then closes her eyes and tilts her head to the side.
“I’ll be fine, Office Man!”
She said with emotion returning to her voice. Fischer stares sadly at the girl for several moments, opening and closing his mouth several times to try to speak, but can't. Finally just as the prince is catching up with them, he says, getting down on her level
"It's our job, to catch people like that, and we all know the danger in it. We accept it."
Straightening up, he says to the Prince
"Why in god's name are you here, your majesty"
he adds in 'your majesty’ as an afterthought, seemingly forgetting it in his aggravation. Looking slightly insulted, the young man responds.
"I wanted to make sure she was ok. Just because I'm royalty doesn't mean I'm fragile!"
He says, almost whining, rather than out of anger. Getting angrier now, the agent responds
"Because you stupid child, the man we are dealing with is a highly trained killer for hire. The girl has been a seemingly difficult target for him to hit, so what's to say he doesn't switch up his target? What's to say he doesn't try bagging the hot headed prince who keeps exposing himself to danger?"
“It wasn’t Karla’s job to die.”
Is all that comes from the girl as she attempts to storm off back to the back door during the two’s argument. One of Fischer's hands is preoccupied gesturing at the Prince, but the other remains firmly on her shoulder, holding her in place. Fischer has been stressed to his breaking point over the last several days, and it is finally showing. After a tense moment, he adds
"Your majesty"
Jorge doesn't respond, and recoils from the rant. He looks genuinely hurt, looking down at the floor, ashamed. Looking at the girl, he says
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened before, I didn't intend to betray your trust. and I'm glad you're unharmed."
He gives a proper royal bow, and turns to walk away.
Very weak and quiet.
“Thank you. . .”
Is all that the girl is able to ring out before she looks down to the floor, a bit ashamed that Jorge was worried about her, as she stops trying to escape Fischer’s emplacement. Jorge doesn't seem to hear the girl's faint words as he walks away. After the Prince is safely out of earshot, Fischer pats the girl's shoulder reassuringly, and says
"Let's get you back to your room. That's quite enough excitement for one day, I think."
Fischer starts to say something else, before an agent comes running down the hall, shouting
"Sir! We got something, you're needed in the situation room right away!"
Looking down at the girl, and relaxing his grip, he says
"Can I trust you to make it back to your room by yourself? Or do I have to handcuff you to an agent?"
Because of his all-business demeanor, it's hard to tell if he's joking or not. The girl says nothing in response, and sighing at the girl's cold shoulder Fischer says
"Not in the mood for jokes, can't say I blame you. Would it make you feel better if we showed you our efforts to catch the bad man? I can take you there if you promise not to do something rash again."
Underneath the layer of stoicism, Fischer cracks momentarily, and says in as sympathetic a voice as could be mustered.
"I can begin to understand your sorrow, Karla is not the first colleague I've had to bury. Nothing fills the void left behind, but moving on, and catching those responsible is the next best thing, In my opinion."
Returning to his stoic ways, he stiffens, and thinks to himself.
'Damnit. I'm getting too soft for this assignment'
“I don’t know. . .”
Is all the girl manages to say as her body language becomes less stiff, however this was clearly not from relaxing, but rather from an exhausting sadness that was apparent in her dark brown eyes as she continued looking down at the ground. Taking his hand away from the girl, he says
"I leave the choice up to you."
He takes a few steps away from the girl, before stopping and half turning saying
"Though I will say, if I was a betting man, I'd wager the Prince hasn't left the hospital premises. He'll likely stay for a while, to avoid the wrath of his father."
Leaving a hand out slightly, he keeps walking. The girl visibly ponders on her options for several seconds before running past the Agent in order to find the Prince. Watching her go, Fischer has the slightest smile creep over his stoic face, as he continues to the meeting.
At the meeting
In the crowded conference room, Fischer makes his way to a group of men huddled around the table that dominates the room. A dull murmur fills the room with white noise that doesn't dissipate until Fischer pushes past the men around the table. The source of the buzz in the room lies in two items sitting on the table. A Macmillan TAC-50 sniper rifle along with a cell phone sits on the table, and Fischer sucks in a breath when he sees them.
"Tell me we can get into the phone"
He says, his excitement palpable. The room goes quiet, and one man nods in the affirmative "Excellent. And the rifle?"
He asks, gesturing to the weapon
"Found in the sniper's nest, looks like he left in a hurry. Counter fire was a floor off, but it looks like he was long gone by the time the SAT team got there because of it. The cell phone was found in the hallway outside the room, not likely to be a discard."
One of the agents in the rooms reports. Fischer claps his hands together excitedly, and without much delay the phone is hooked up to a specialized laptop that another agent brings into the room. Not long after that, data from the phone pours into the laptop, and the room cheers at one particular note. Text messages from the shooter show he'll be at a location outside the city for a dead drop pickup in 3 days time. The hospital is quickly abuzz with activity as Fischer works tirelessly for the next 48 hours attempting to get a raid force together. While this flurry of planning goes on, the UAVs assigned to the case maintain a silent watch of the RV point the shooter is supposed to be at, while others are brought in to comb the surrounding area. The mood of the task force is focused, yet jovial. Every small success over the next 48 hours is met with cheers from the men tirelessly working on the case. They had there target, and it was time to end his campaign of terror.
While Fischer is briefed in his meeting, Is finds herself back by her room. Inside, sitting on the bed, is Prince Jorge. He is slumped over, with his head lolling to one side, resting on the headboard. The slow rise and fall of his chest, along with his slight snore makes it clear he has fallen asleep. The bags visible under his closed eyes tell a tale: he likely hasn't slept much since he snuck away, and the excitement of the sniper was the last straw that sapped his energy away. The girl’s face lights up as she finds the prince asleep in her own room. With a few seconds of hesitation she would take a step into a room, her feet light and the sound for the most part unheard by all who could potentially hear it. After another attempt she gently closed the door behind her to reduce the noise profile she emitted. With much care she began to make her way to her bed and climbed on it before she gently tried to nuzzle her way into the Prince’s chest, taking his arm and trying to wrap it around herself for the comfort of another human’s presence. There is a moment where it seem the movement of his arm woke him up as his snoring stops, but instead, he remains soundly asleep. After a moment, his arm goes from limply hanging around the girl to a hug when he shifts slightly in his sleep. to punctuate just how asleep he was, his snoring starts back up, this time more consistent, but at a low volume. As he shifts, his head rolls to land on top of the girl's head. After she is settled in with the weight of Jorge’s head bearing down on her she would quickly drift off to sleep, treasuring the moment until her eyes fell close.
As the pair sleeps, a motorcade of cars comes screaming up to the front entrance of the castle. Out from a car in the center steps out a man in his early 40s, with sandy blonde hair meticulously groomed and combed over to the right side of his head. A well trimmed beard covers the lower half of his face, while a mustache obscures most of his upper lip. He wears a suit adorned with a pin that has a mighty beast emblazoned on it, the crest of the Galavarian royal line. His piercing blue eyes seem to part the sea of guards around him. He quickly moves to the back passenger door of the vehicle, opening the door and reaching a hand inside. a gloved hand reaches back, and a woman in her late 30s steps out of the car. Her auburn hair flows in curls down to her shoulders, and she wears a vibrant red overcoat with gold buttons glistening down its front. It contrasts well with the King's navy blue suit. Striding into the hospital, Fischer quickly rushes to meet them, and manages to do so in the lobby of the building. He quickly gets down on one knee, and bows his head.
"My liege, I had no idea you would be making a visit today, you honor us with your presence. Had Mr.-"
He is cut off when the king speaks, his words cold as ice, and laced with venom.
"Spare the pleasantries. My son, is he here?"
Fischer gets up off his knee, and nervously clears his throat
"Yes, your majesty. He arrived earlier today. I was going to send word-"
He is cut off again as the king moves to walk past him, saying
"Take me to him"
Quickly following behind him, Fischer says
"Absolutely, right this way, your majesty."
As the trio makes it up to the room, at the head of a posse of stern looking guards, Fischer silently curses his situation. Once they reach the door to the room, he opens it, and quickly steps aside. Stepping ahead of her husband, Hannah Brandt gives a small gasp, before quickly giving her husband a shushing gesture. Moving into the room with his wife, Albert would immediately see why his wife had shushed him, before he even said anything. On the hospital bed lie his son, soundly asleep with what looked to be a girl no older than 10 also in a deep slumber in his arms. The sight confused him, and dammed the raging river of anger he was ready to unleash on his son.
"Explain."
he hisses back to the agent in charge. Stepping forward, Fischer says in an uncharacteristically sheepish tone
"Ahem. That would be the patient your majesty. Code named 'Lambda' in the official reporting."
Not taking his eyes off the girl, he says
"And why is my son in bed with her?"
Before the agent could reply, Hannah speaks up
"The poor thing must have been terrified from the day's events, and it looks like our Jorgie took to comforting the frail thing. I think it's sweet."
She says, beaming at the still sleeping form of her son.
"Ah, yes. Well. The Prince came to this room to sleep off the day's events, as you know we had a shooting incident here. All under control now..."
Fischer adds nervously
"And it appears the patient, who seems inextricably calm in the presence of the young master, also found rest in his company.”
He finishes.
A soft smile comes to Hannah's lips
"See dear? Our boy is all grown up, taking on delicate matters such as this"
She says, grabbing onto the man's arms, forcing the King's gaze away from the pair on the bed and onto her emerald green eyes. The king sighs heavily, and says
"He still directly defied me by returning here, and could have gotten himself killed. You think I should reward such behavior?"
Patting her husband on the cheek, she says in a sweet tone
"Punishment can be given in due time, my love. Right now, the main goal should be resolving this issue quickly, so we can return you to matters of state."
Thinking for a moment, the man relents, and says
"Fine. Let us at least wake the boy and figure out what's so damned important that he would put himself in such danger"
Placing a hand on her husband's chest, in a motion for him to stay back, Hannah walks forward, and sits on a chair placed next to the bed, and gives the teenager a few pats on the face. In a low voice, attempting to not wake up the girl in his arms, she calls his name several times. He stirs, and his eyes slowly open, and then seem to widen in shock.
"Mom-"
He croaks out, and his eyes fall on the figure of his father standing ominously behind her
"Father."
His mind races as he quickly assesses the situation, and one thought screams above the rest
'Shit!'
As with all things the girl is quicker on the draw, stirring awake as she hears the various voices in the room. Despite this disturbance she attempts to make it seem as if she was still asleep, bordering on waking up. As she hears Jorge’s voice in particular she sleepily melts further into him until she would be a human puddle on the bed. In the silence between talkings she would slither off the bed, unintentionally creating a thud. Jorge jumps, when he realizes he is not alone in the bed, aiding in the girl's fall.
"Oh!"
He exclaims as she falls. He cringes when he hears the thud, and looks to his mother, saying in a somewhat timid voice
"I can explain everything?"
Piecing the boy with eyes of a hawk, Hannah responds
"I'm sure you can sweetheart. You know how stressful these last few years have been on your father, surely you wouldn't add to it for no reason, yes?"
Softening her gaze, and letting the question hang in the air for a moment, she looks down at the girl. Saying in a friendly tone.
"And who might you be, little missy?”
She questions, offering a hand to help the girl stand up. The girl sleepily rubs the crust from her eyes as she looks up at Hannah. The girl hears her voice, but is seemingly enraptured by the green eyes of the Queen, not speaking as she just looked up at her as if she was a stunned puppy. Giving the girl a smile with the warmth to melt ice caps, the woman coo's
"You poor thing, you must be so disoriented."
Looking to her son, she says
"Jorge, be a dear and help the girl up."
Without hesitating, Jorge picks the girl up and places her on the bed, near the front of it, and away from him. Continuing, Hannah asks sweetly.
"So why has a fragile thing like you taken refuge in bed with my son?"
The girl grabs a pillow and attempts to bury her face in it, clearly embarrassed by the sudden introduction of the Queen into this and her insistence to interrogate her, hoping that if she doesn’t say anything she would eventually be left alone. The woman reaches out and places a hand on the girl's head, petting it gently. She says, smiling, not leaving her face
"Such a shy one. I'm not cross with you, young one. My husband and I originally came to collect our son, as he snuck back into the city to get back here. I can see why, you're simply adorable."
Jorge cringes, and attempts to sink back into the bed, in an attempt to retreat from the steely gaze of his father. The girl seems to instinctively flinch as she feels the pet on the head, an audible “Eep!” coming from her as she would hug the pillow tighter as she actually began to speak in Hebrew, the pace of speaking quick and her breath barely keeping up with herself as her tone seemed to be a mix of excitement and happiness. Giggling at the strange girl's display, Hannah looks to her son, and says
"I take it you've been looking after the poor miss here after her ordeal? Is that why you went through all the trouble of getting back here?"
Clearing his throat, and trying his best to wipe the fear off his face, Jorge responds
"Yes mother, I've tried to, but have thus far been unsuccessful. Being grounded and all has made it difficult to visit the hospital, and when I do they are usually very-"
Hannah cuts her son off with a hand, to prevent him from rambling.
"I understand. I think we can arrange for you to visit more often, can't we dear?"
Sighing, the king rubs his beard and says.
"I suppose we could. Has he made much progress with her?"
He looks to Fischer for an answer, who also looking quite nervous, exchanges a glance with the Prince. The stare is of mutual pleading, that says 'please don't throw me under the bus to save your own ass'. Seeing that they were on the same page, Fischer puts on his usual stoic demeanor and states.
"Quite helpful your majesty. Your son has an excellent ability with people, and has made great strides with the young miss. We didn't have so much of a name before he came on."
He trails off and looks at Jorge, not looking to make his task force look any more incompetent. Hannah claps her hands together in excitement, and says
"Oh wonderful! Do tell us the girl's name, as she seems to be a bit shy right now, won't you dear Jorge?"
Jorge looks to the girl, and to his mother, and back to the girl. Unsure if to say the name she had given him.
After a few moments, Hannah says playfully
"Well don't tell me you've lost your tongue as well, out with it already. I bet her name is something beautiful, to fit a cutie like you."
She finishes, looking to Is, Jorge says, clearing his throat
"Is, this is my mother, the Queen. The man behind her is my father, the King."
“It’s not a very nice name. . .”
Is all that is able to come out from the girl as she doesn’t raise her head from the pillow, only squeezing on tighter at the betrayal of trust.
Jorge rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"She doesn't like it very much, apparently. I tried calling her Schneehase instead, but I don't think she likes that very much either."
Hannah frowns, and the King begins to study the girl more intently, seeming to temporarily forget his aggravation with his son. Speaking up, Albert says
"Well, if that's her name, that's her name. I'd welcome you to my kingdom, but I feel as though your stay here couldn't hardly be classified as welcoming, I do apologize. You're accent, is it Michese?"
Snapping her fingers, Hannah adds
"No dear, I think it's further west, Khoslol perhaps?"
The girl does not answer, instead retreating back to as close to Jorge as she is allowed for comfort as she maintains her head in her pillow. Huffing in dissatisfaction with the girl's silence, the King says to Jorge.
"I was led to believe you had made progress. Clearly I was mistaken. Your propensity for lying is almost as vast as the empty space between your ears. Come boy! we are leaving now, and I'll be damned if you see the light of day outside of looking through your window for the next month for what you've done."
Hannah gives a sad smile to the girl, and says
"Say goodbye to your friend Jorge, maybe if you took your studies more seriously distasteful things like this wouldn't have to happen. It was wonderful to meet you, young miss"
Getting up, Hannah motions for her son to follow. He looks dejected, and full of dread for what sort of punishment his parents will lay out for him once he's back home. He gives the girl an awkward pat on the head, and says with a hollow ring to his voice.
"Bye, Schneehase"
He starts to get up off the bed, to follow his parents, who are now closer to the door. Fischer has done his best impersonation of a wall, to avoid catching any of the ire being thrown about the room. He looks like he would rather be boiling in a pit of lava than be present for this conversation for a moment longer. The girl begins to visibly tense up and starts to shake as the tension in the room clearly begins to rise, being paralyzed in fear for the vast majority of it. As soon as she felt the springs of the bed rise upwards as Jorge made his way off of it she would let go of her pillow, letting it fall onto the mattress as she quickly hugged onto his arm, not wanting him to go.
“My father was a sailor in the KPPR Navy. . .”
She said, choked up with emotion as visible tears were in her eyes. Jorge stops, and somehow manages to look surprised at the girl's attempts to keep him there. He gives his parents a half hearted 'see?' gesture
"she um... She speaks. Sometimes"
He says nervously. His father remains unconvinced, and says dismissively
"There's nothing you can do for a traumatized girl, I won't ask you again. Come, we are leaving"
Hannah's heart looks like it shatters on the spot seeing the girl's pitiful display. She whispers something to Fischer who nods enthusiastically. The girl hugs tighter to Jorge’s arm as her eyes become enveloped in tears completely as she struggles to even get a few words out.
“Please. . . don’t take him away.”
Hannah Brandt looks like she may burst, and dive across the room to console the child. Instead, Fischer, much to his own internal chagrin, reinserts himself into the conversation.
"Ahem. Your majesty, young Prince Brandt here is the only person to successfully draw information from this patient. I would request you stay your judgment, until after the case is closed. For purely matters of national security, of course."
Looking to the girl, and then to the agent, there is a crack in the King's steely visage.
"While I am well within my rights to deny my son the privilege of working on this case, I do believe that this child finds some form of comfort in him, god only knows how. I would be remiss to further disrupt the girl's state by removing him from this situation. Tell me, agent Fischer. Would you stake your career on my son being a vital part of your case?"
There is a notable pause before Fischer reluctantly replies.
"Yes, your majesty. I think my medical staff would agree that interacting with the young master will go a long way in normalizing the girl's mental state."
Shaking his head, the King turns and walks away, saying
"Then so be it. I expect you to come home by supper every night, boy."
Hannah walks over to the girl, and gives her hair a light ruffle, whispering.
"It was nice to meet you young one, please do keep my boy out of trouble, think you can do that for me?"
Before following her husband out the door. When Fischer is sure they are gone, he practically collapses, and says out loud.
"Jesus. I think I just crawled out of my own grave. I need a drink."
He also walks out of the room. Once they are alone, Jorge collapses onto the bed, before shooting back up and giving the girl a hug, exclaiming.
"Phew! That was a close one! I thought for sure Father was going to give me the lashing of a lifetime for sure. I owe you one Schneehase!"
Letting her go awkwardly, he says
"Oh, sorry. Uh. Don't mention your dad was in the navy to my younger brother by the way, he'll never shut up about it, and pester you with questions if you do."
“I wanna go back to sleep.”
She says as she buries her face into Jorge. Looking past her, out the window, Jorge see's that it's still light out. Giving the girl a quizzical look, he says
"It's a little early for sleep, no?"
Thinking about it for a moment, he continues.
"Who am I to judge, I'd still be asleep at midday some days if it weren't for those wakeup calls. It's been an exciting day, I'll leave you to rest."
He gets off the bed in one quick motion, and starts to head for the door. The girl quickly yanks him back in the direction of the bed, her eyes still buried into his shirt.
“Stay.”
She pleads, still deeply emotional and sounding scared. Not wanting to upset the girl any more than she already was, and in a mood to do her a good turn in exchange from bailing him out of being locked in his room for the next month, he sits back down on the bed. Leaning his entire back against the headboard, he sits stiffly, and looks awkward doing it.
"Well, it's the least I could do to make you feel a little better. Sorry for giving my parents your name, once again I have betrayed your trust. I hope I can earn it back sometime soon."
He says, ending on a mournful note.
Vault- Posts : 27
Join date : 2021-04-21
The Finale Part 2: The Checkmate and Farewells
November 18th, 2013
Inside SAT-2’s team room
The men of the Office of Internal Affairs Special Actions Team sat enraptured as Fischer and an Forgien Relations Group agent who only answered to ‘Peaches’ gave a briefing on their target. Much to the chagrin of many in SAT, a detchatchment from the army’s premier counter terror force, SOD-C, was also present. ‘Peaches’ was up first for the briefing, lecturing about the target they were after:
“Your target is one David Mizrahi, a Judean mercenary. He is wanted across the globe, and is considered armed and, I cannot stress this point enough. Extremely dangerous. It is for this reason that while this is ostensibly a kill/capture mission, I have received permission from the highest office to kill him if he so much as flinches the wrong way during the raid. Agents from Group have reconnoitered the safehouse he has been using for his dead drops, and have determined it is unoccupied. Intelligence collected from his sniper’s nest leads us to believe whoever did the drop is long gone, and more disturbingly, potentially of Galavarian citizenship. It is for this reason I have gotten approval for SOD-C to be joining our task force on this raid. They, along with other military assets have been approved by the king himself to ensure there are no leaks, and no mistakes. Mizrahi will be at the safehouse in 6 hours, and he won’t be leaving. Agents from Group will take positions around the house before the raid, and ensure he doesn’t leave the premises without a tail. We’ve given them all thermals, and he shouldn’t be able to sneak past that. Ah, that reminds me”
He clicks around the slideshow for a grainy photo of a man shaped silhouette fading out of existence.
“Your target has the ability to vanish, on command. While not full spectrum, it’s damn effective. I’ll pass on the brass tacks to agent Fischer, head of the task force.”
Stepping away from the slideshow, Fischer takes the pointer from the man from FRG, and flips to a video of drone footage of the house.
“As you can see, the house is on a small plot of land some 27km outside Varbrook’s outskirts. Before being bought out by what we now know to be a shell company, it was a small farm that would host fall festivities for families in the suburbs of the city. The only appreciable bit of cover is a treeline around 400 meters to the northwest of the house. Because of this, we have received authorization to arm one of our drones with one AGM-114 and one GBU-12.”
As this fact permeated the room there were several whistles and murmurs. One man speaks up
“Hellfires and paveways? Just how dangerous do they think this guy is?”
Nodding his head, and pushing past the interruption, Fischer continues
“The drone is being armed as a failsafe. As my colleague from Group said, this man must not be allowed to leave. Alive or dead is up to his actions. As for how we will conduct the raid, it will be a two stage plan.”
Clicking a few slides ahead, he pulls up slides with general information on them
“A team of 18 SAT officers will take two of our UH-60s and follow in a force of 15 SOD operators riding in their little birds. The SAT team will then fast rope down onto the west and east side of the compound, here and here.”
He says pointing to areas just outside a 4ft high concrete fence that surrounds the inner part of the property.
“From there, 9 men, from what I will now be referring to as ‘Team 1’ will take up positions inside the fence, and cut off all entries and exits. Team 2 will be tasked with holding down the east side of the building, and covering the road for the main assault force.”
There is an audible groan from the crowd as they realize they are being sidelined.
“I understand that you might be upset that the office has been sidelined for the main assault on the compound. However due to certain members of the royal families…insistence that this be a mistake free operation, they were called in. The remainder of SAT-2 not in the birds will roll down the main road shortly after the main assault force arrives, allowing for Team 2 to search nearby structures for actionable intel or Gamma-1, the codename for Mr. Mizrahi. SOD will breach the main building via breaching charge on the eastern side of the house. Once they do, provided there is no fire coming from the house, Team one will search the barn on the western end of the house, while team 2 looks through the garage on the east side. I’ll be with the rest of SAT at the motorized blocking position, and at this point, or if the drone spots an anomaly on the thermals, we will be tasked with searching the abandoned field.”
Coming to the end of the slides, he begins to pace up and down the length of the crowd.
“Your ROE is simple. If you are fired upon, shoot. If he tries to run, shoot. If he makes an attempt to surrender, take it. We are not obligated to nor will I ask any of you to put yourselves in harm's way to force a surrender. Any questions?”
One man raised his hand, saying
“What if he has help, or gets help sometime during the raid?”
Fischer nods his head enthusiastically
“Excellent question. We don’t expect him to have backup, but if he does, or civilians attempt to get near, follow this simple protocol: Shout, shoot, shoot. Get the drivers attention, and attempt to get them to turn back, if that fails, fire a warning shot. If that fails, shoot to kill.”
There's a number of murmurs once again, wary of such a loose ROE.
“I’m aware how bad that sounds, like we are going back to the days of the badfields. I assure you, this is not the case. This ROE is only to come into effect if someone is clearly trying to breach the blocking position. Are there any further questions?”
The room went silent.
“Alright. Get your gear sorted and get to the airfield, you have 5 hours.”
The room then goes into a frenzy as the various teams rush to don their black armor and collect weapons from the armory. Noticeable still are the SOD-C operators, who clad in their brand new multicam fatigues, already had their kits waiting for them at the airfield.
Later, at an unnamed airfield
2132 hours
Men perform last minute checks and don their night vision goggles. Helicopters start up their engines, and the dull whine of engines soon drowns out all other noise. Once all the operators piled into their respective choppers, Fischer’s voice came over the radio
This is Watcher to all TF Nightcrawler elements, check in
One by one, the teams checked in.
“Team 1, ready”
“Team 2, standing by”
“Chalk-3 green”
Said the team leader for the SOD element.
Fischer's voice comes back over the radio.
“Watcher to all Nightcrawler elements, Marigold, I say again, Marigold”
With the go word being given, the choppers took off for the airfield, and made their way to the lonely farmhouse outside Varbrook. Simultaneously, 10 MRAPs left the airfield, with the follow on force. Grainy cell phone footage soon emerges on Galavaria’s military enthusiasts forums of a convoy of helicopters flying over the suburbs of Varbrook. Many raised questions as to the purpose, but this discussion was soon drowned out by other news to come out of the night.
2218 hours
In the skies near the target building
The helicopters came screaming over the suburbs of Varbrook, and rapidly descended on the target.
30 Seconds!
The pilot in charge of the UH-60 shouted into his radio. The men of teams 1 and 2 began preparing themselves for the fast rope. The little birds also started their final descent to land the SOD-C operators on the eastern side of the compound. After a few more tense moments, the helicopters came to a stop above their destination, and the crew chief shouted.
Go! Go! Go!
The first man leapt into the cold night sky just as the first little bird touched down, its SOD complemented leaping out. In the distance, the MRAPs can be seen closing on the farmhouse. Team one, as planned, quickly fast ropes down without issue, and sets up on the west side of the farmhouse, with team 2 doing the same in the east. The SOD operators quickly scale the wars of the compound using mini ladders, while the MRAPs pull up the compound blaring a simple message.
“ATTENTION, DAVID MIZRAHI. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”
As the message blares, SOD-C races across the open area between the wall and the house and takes cover on the back eastern side as the breacher begins to set the charges. Flashlights from the SAT teams and SOD-C paint the house in moving white light, while the men of the mobile group begin to set up around the road. Fischer is among them, and seems quite happy. Noticing this, one of the SAT officers near him says
“Good to be back in the saddle, eh Elias?”
Smiling, and throwing his M4 over his shoulder via a sling, he says
“Absolutely. You have no idea how much I missed this.”
There is a loud BANG that comes from the compound as a hole is ripped into the side of the building. Following it are several dull thumps of flashbangs.
Not even a second passes from the moment the breaching charge goes off and the team is met with automatic and sustained gunfire as the hitman inside the house grabs a man dressed in a rather disheveled way. He throws the unknown man behind the cover of a flipped over table as he slides behind it himself, grabbing a fragmentation grenade from his trench coat’s pocket as he did so. Pulling out the pin, and cooking it for a couple seconds, he tosses it into the breach. Moving away from the breach hole, the fire passes harmless by the SOD operators as they try to return fire. This is silenced when the grenade sails out, and detonates, causing serious injuries to the men closest to the hole. In response, The SOD team pulled further back, and the SAT teams started pouring fire into the building. With Chaos erupting, Fischer takes cover behind one of the MRAPs, and yells.
“Jesus fucking Christ! Who is this guy?!”
As chaos consumes the building a convoy of three black HUMVEEs maneuvers their way between the trees and foliage that parallels the road leading up the farmhouse. Driving straight towards the area with the pedal to the metal, one of the HUMVEEs is equipped with a fifty caliber heavy machine gun on its turret ring. As they reached ever closer to the farmhouse they finally turned on their headlights, illuminating the path ahead of them. Seeing the new threat, a lone M249 gunner atop one of the MRAPs calls
“I got three vics coming down the– Holy Shit!”
In Fischer’s ear, the drone operator says over the radio.
“I got the lead vic with the gun mount in my sights, permission to engage?”
Shouting back into his radio, to all, he replies
“Engage! Light those motherfuckers up!”
Saying aloud to the blocking force, he shouts
“I got heat comin! Stay down, start shooting after impact!”
After a few tense moments of the HUMVEEs getting far too close to comfort, the lead vehicle with the .50 cal mount disappears in a flash of light and a terribly loud BOOM. As dirt and debris rain around them, the blocking force begins to pour fire into the encroaching vehicles. Before the gunners on top of the Humvees can bring their powerful machine guns to bear, they are cut down by the accurate rifle fire coming from the blocking force. The truck Fischer was using for cover was also hammering away with a M249. raking up and down the convoy in erratic bursts.
Back at the house, the Hitman lays down a torrent of fire with a fresh magazine of ammunition before sprinting over to another set of cover. Rummaging through one of the wide drawers, he produces a light machine gun, popping out from cover as he throws the bipod up and begins to pepper the general direction of the breach. The other man lays down on the floor completely prone to avoid fire as best as he can. Seeing that the SOD team is now completely pinned down, Team 1 begins to make their way to the front door of the house, and a breacher comes up quickly to shotgun the door off its hinges. It’s kicked in, and the men storm into the house.
As the lead Humvee burns, the two other Humvees begin zig zagging opposite of each other as one operator loaded a flare into his m203 and fired in the direction of blocking force. The flare sent a miniature sun to illuminate the Galvarians as the operators poked their rifles out of the windows and began firing at anything and everything they could see. Now having his NODs washed out, Fischer curses to himself and begins shooting at the windows of the vehicles.
“Aim for the muzzle flashes and windows!”
He shouts over the din of combat.
The Humvees' occupants sustain their fire as they ram through the blockade of the house at top speed, dropping flash bangs out their windows as they pass by Fischer. The flashbangs leave many in the blocking force disoriented, and the fire tapers off. Not before what is left of the convoy is hit with a hail of bullets. Dead bodies can be seen slumped out of the side of the Humvees, along with many agents lying on the ground, some injured, some worse. One of the last two mobile humvees suddenly goes erratically off course, after the front windshield was shattered by the overwhelming torrent of fire. It ended its course flipped over a drainage ditch that ran alongside the farm compound. Soon the sole surviving humvee found itself crashing through the front door of the farmhouse and surprising the hell out of Team 1, who scrambled to get out of the way. The crash sends the vast majority of the occupants into a state of concussion. Half of team one lay sprawled around the intruding vehicle, too stunned to do anything. A single operator stumbled his way out of the first Humvee with a MP5 cradled in his youthful hands as if it were a child. As he falls onto the ground he looks around frantically, only now seeing the hitman with the machine gun turning towards him in utter confusion. Without a moment of hesitation he sends a burst of pistol caliber rounds at the hitman, one striking him dead center in the head as he flopped to the ground. The operator then stumbles onto his feet and takes a handful of steps in his concussed state, feeling a sudden sharp pain in his side as he falls to the ground, seeing the tramp with a pistol drawn. What members of team two are still standing also lay a torrent of fire into the child with the MP5, dropping him dead where he stands. With the murderous machine gun fire now stopped, SOD-C rushing into the building, and peppers the remaining shooter’s hiding place with holes. They stop shooting when a small pool of blood appears from underneath the table he was using for concealment. The intruding Humvee is also laced with fire, riddling the already battered vehicle with bullet holes. Outside, Fischer, now recovered from the concussion grenades, though his vision still swam, frantically calls on the radio.
“Home Plate this is Watcher! Request immediate assistance!”
A calm, collected voice on the other end replies
“Copy, Watcher. Reinforcements in route.”
Those left uninjured in the blockade rapidly descend on the house, shouting commands to whoever was left in the Humvees.
“Hands!”
“Come out with your Hands up!”
The shouts, and variations of them, are repeated several times.
No movement would come from the HUMVEEs for nearly ten seconds before the second HUMVEE’s right side passenger door creaks open as a barely alive survivor falls face first out. She seemed to be in her early twenties and of the same ethnic descent of the mystery girl, although her skin was not as pale. Her hair that was once neat was now a mess and organized into a long ponytail held together with a hair tie of every color. She was wearing a black tactical uniform, although it was more red with how covered in blood it is. She has a black high cut helmet and a plate carrier with a back patch that reads ‘Saratha’. As the woman collapses onto the floor she begins to cough up blood. She is clearly wounded, her radio activating during the fall, sending a long line of static and painful coughs into the frequency of local law enforcement’s emergency line.
With the office goons not on the local police radio, and the gunfire finally stopped, Fischer decides to take charge of the situation once again.
“Headcount! Who's up, and who needs medical attention! I want that house tossed over, and I want these fucking Humvees secured. They don’t have their hands up when you pop the doors, shoot the bastards!”
He yells into his radio. SOD-C remains in the house to conduct Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE), while the SAT teams, what's left of the uninjured, slowly close in on the Humvees. Fischer motions to two men closest to him, and points to the body.
“Secure that one”
He orders, keeping his rifle trained on the body. The two men quickly get to her, tie the raggedly breathing woman’s hands behind her back. Fischer then notices the writing on the back of her plate carrier and says aloud.
“Aw hell.”
Quickly coming to a realization, he says over the radio.
“Forget what I said, drag every one of the occupants of those vehicles out and start to render aid!”
There's confusion among the officers present, before Fischer bellows
“NOW!”
Not needing any more motivation, the men hop too. The two men originally searching the actively bleeding out woman on the ground quickly switch to provide first aid. One by one, the Humvees are opened, and the gristly sights inside speak for themselves. The interiors are riddled with bullet holes, and their occupants are all slumped over in their seats. Blood and bits of tissues coat the inside of the trucks. Realizing he might be standing over the lone survivor, Fischer swears loudly, kicking the nearest Humvee as he did so.
“God damn mother fucking IDIOTS! What were you thinking!”
He continues to swear violently, and the rapidly fading women on the ground, and to the lord himself. Confused, one of his men asks
“Hey why can’t we just smoke em sir? Who the hell are these guys?”
To which he responds.
“These assholes are a part of some far east cult. They have militias and other organized groups active in a few countries, mostly out east. They are entirely harmless, and usually work with local law enforcement. In short, we just lit up a foreign PMC that was ambivalent to our nation.”
A few murmurs escape nearby agents, cursing the idiotic militia. The woman begins to cough violently as her eyes end up on the SAT Team rendering aid and to Fischer in particular, her eyes confused. The eye contact is violently broken through a big series of bloody coughs.
“Do you know why the snow is white, Officer. . . . ?” She says in absolute disbelief.
Slowly, teams start to report on the wounded, and the dead. During the brief but intense firefight, the intruder's bullets had largely missed their marks due to the nature of their attack. This did not, however, stop lucky hits. 3 officers lay dead, along with most of the task force wounded, some critically. With this in mind, and anger boiling up inside him, Fischer waved off the man about to administer morphine to the woman, and had them sit her up straight. Grabbing the woman's face with one hand, and wrenching it so she was forced to look at him, he hisses.
“Unless you want to take this conversation to a black site, you better start makin sense, and fast.”
The woman violently coughs before she says, her eyes fluttering.
“Met a distressed and recent diaspora member before the mall bombing. Tip came in, Mizrahi spotted. Bastard took out an Aspect in the nineties. . .”
The woman moans in pain as she tries to find the strength to continue.
“We had to take him out.”
She finishes with a croak. Letting the woman's face go with a dissatisfied huff, he motions for the agent to stick her with morphine. As the drug starts to take effect, he stands up and has an epiphany.
‘That girl said the same thing just the other day. She can’t actually be connected to all this shit, can she?’
He thinks to himself.
“What did you mean, by ‘know why snow is white?’”
He asks in a commanding voice.
The woman would let out an exasperated sigh of relief as she is injected with the morphine, grunting slightly.
“It’s the challenge to a counter sign, derived from some of our texts, meant to identify friend or foe.”
Looking back to the bodies, now being lined up in a row for transportation, he turns his gaze to the woman with disgust.
“No friend of ours. Throw her in the back of truck 2. She so much as looks at you the wrong way, shoot her. We’ll continue this talk at the hospital.”
He turns to walk away as the two guards hoist her to her feet, and begin leading her to the nearest MRAP.
Back at the hospital
A lone guard stands outside Is’s room, idly smoking a cigarette when another guard, along with nurse Charlie come running over.
“Shit’s all bad man. They had to call in a strike from the predator, and now they are requesting backup. All hands on deck, I’ll watch the girl.”
Charlie says to the man. The guard that was with him adds.
“C’mon, the bastards hit the position in trucks, so we’re gonna grab the .50 out of the armory, I need a second set of hands.”
The both go rushing away, and Charlie tentatively enters the room, to see if they woke the girl with the commotion. Is was just bringing herself up from the bed and sheepishly rubbing her eyes, as she tried to wake herself up. Unsure what the new rush of feet and voices were about, the soft moonlight illuminating her slightly.
“Ah, good evening young one. Sorry to bother you so late. We had to borrow your guard for some important business.”
Just as he says that, another office runs by yelling after the two that just left.
“We got the bastard! I have confirmation that Gamma-1 is down!”
There is a general cheer that echoes down the hall. Attempting to distract the girl, Charlie asks.
“So, you met Prince Jorge? What did you think of him? It’s not often someone gets one on one time with royalty.”
“The Prince is really nice. . .”
She says with embarrassment as she pulls her legs to her chest and hugs them. Suddenly the excitement from down the hall stops alongside the sound of rushing feet. A sound similar to that of a sack of potatoes hitting the floor echos as something creates a thud in the hall, soon followed by two more.
Charlie gives the first genuine smile Is has ever seen him have.
“You know, you can be a cute bugger sometimes. I’m glad you found someone to talk to, for what it's worth.”
On hearing the noise, he starts to turn around.
“What the hell?”
Charlie would say dubiously as he reached into his lab coat pocket. The girl buries her face into her knees as her cheeks are filled with a bright red, too embarrassed to answer. Not a sound comes from outside the hall.
“No need to be shy about it, why don’t you tell me what your favorite part from interacting with him was, or something else you liked.”
He says, trying to hide his nervousness.
“He is very nice and very handsome. . .” She would sheepishly admit as she raises her head from her knees, seeming to daydream of the Prince.
Pulling a radio out from his pocket, he says into it.
“Charlie to Home Plate, think I got something over by Lambda”
Putting the radio away when it squawks an acknowledgement, he pauses. A chill runs down his spine as he realizes he heard his radio call from outside the door.
His eyes remain glued to the door, and his hand goes back into his pocket, producing a compact 9mm handgun from another pocket.
“Hans? Is that you?”
He asks nervously. Giving a quick glance to the girl, he adds
“Stay behind me”
All gleefulness from the girl dissipates as she hops off the bed and positions herself behind Charlie. Just then the door knob would slowly be twisted open and pushed, revealing the body of a guard on the floor with his throat slit. With No one else is in sight, yet Charlie would feel a rush of air towards him and two sets of footsteps sprinting into the room. In a bout of panic, he shouts to the girl.
“If something happens to me, run! Fast as you can!”
He aims at the door and hesitantly puts his finger on the trigger. Right in front of Charlie a masked man would flicker into reality, a short sword in one hand and his other hand reaching out to grab Charlie’s gun. Seeing a figure apparition in front of him, Charlie exclaims.
“Fuck!”
Depressing the trigger of his pistol out of reflex. The shot deafens the room, and sails directly through the outstretched hand of the assailant. As the bullet penetrates the apparition’s hand, blood sprays onto Charlie and the Figure before the figure begins to flicker in and out of reality several times a second, blood seeming to float in the air when they disappear. A second and near identical man appears next to the injured figure, lunging at Charlie. He sends a knee into Charlie, knocking him to the ground and catching Charlie’s gun as he falls. Pushing past the pain with the help of adrenaline the first figure would stomp Charlie’s chest to the ground further as he begins to drive his sword into the nurse. Suddenly a plea would ring out from the girl in Khoslol.
“Just kill me, leave him alone!”
The second man looks off to the girl as the first holds his blade half an inch away from Charlie’s neck. Wheezing on the ground, Charlie croaks out
“Run…Run!”
Tears form in her eyes as the second man raises his sword and holds it right below the girl’s chin, staring at her, speaking back in Khoslol.
“Well, isn’t that a surprise.”
He says with a chuckle as the girl continues.
“No one else needs to die but me. . . please, let him go. . .” She pleads. The man holding her at sword point slowly pulls his sword from the girl’s chin as he sheathes it, followed by the first man, saying as he did so.
“Ten minutes. You deserve that at least.”
Immediately She runs past the two as the first man takes the magazine out of Charlie’s gun and pulls back the slide, sending an intact bullet in the air, with the second man catching it. The first man takes his foot off Charlie as the girl’s sprinting footsteps can barely be heard anymore. The two then seem to disappear from reality. Scrambling to a sitting position, Charlie waits a few moments before pulling out his radio. He screams into it with all his might.
“SHOOTERS IN THE BUILDING. SAME AS GAMMA-1. GIVING CHASE TO THE GIRL.”
The two remaining guards in the command center draw their pistols, and quickly move to intercept, taking the stairs up a floor to the girls room. The final two guards on perimeter duty meet up on the 1st floor, and work to cut off the assailant’s escape, carrying the only rifles left in the building. After several tense moments, the men of the hospital realize they are alone, and all three of the mysterious foreigners have given them the slip. Collecting themselves in the command room much later, Charlie moans to his colleagues.
“How in the hell are we supposed to explain this to the boss?”
Just then, a call comes in over the long range radio sitting in the room.
Home Plate, this is Watcher. ETA 2 mikes. One prisoner in need of enhanced aid.
Cursing himself, the world, and his situation, Charlie says.
“Fuck it then, we get answers out of the prisoner. I’ll go get the room ready, one of us can explain the situation to the boss later.”
…
The drive back to the hospital is quiet, as many are still recovering from the hectic events of the last hour. To very few people’s surprise, the dead drop was a bust, and only had some food, and more explosives for the assassin. They covered their tracks well, and the case would likely go no further because of it. This infuriated Fischer, who was determined to get some answers out of his lone captive. After pulling into the passenger drop off for the hospital, the woman was quickly led inside, and taken one floor above the mystery girl’s room, to the same interrogation chamber Is had seen not too long ago. Charlie stands outside, smoking a cigarette. He has a twisted smile on his face.
“Ah, Agent Fischer, I see you’ve brought me a friend.”
He says with glee. Fischer looks haggard, and in no mood for humor.
“Let's just get this done”
He says darkly. The woman, long since passed out from the ride over, is strapped down to a gurney in the room. Charlie begins hooking up an IV, and other health monitoring equipment to her. Laid out on a stand next to the gurney is an array of vials, scalpels and other horrid implements. The final thing he places down is a towel and bucket of water, next to the gurney. Looking at Charlie, Fischer says.
“Wake her up.”
Pressing a button near the wall, the woman’s body starts horribly convulsing as an electric shock is delivered to her system. The woman starts to scream out in pain, being zapped awake by the torturous volts of electricity ravaging her.
“Do I have your attention? Good.”
Fischer says, as emotionless and stoic as ever.
“Who tipped you off to the raid?”
He presses coldly. The woman responds, still barely conscious.
“We didn’t know you were raiding. We received a tip on our line with a very tight window of opportunity.”
Fischer gives a look to Charlie, who shrugs. Leaning in, Fischer says menacingly.
“If you lie to me, I’ll make you wish we plugged you back at the farmhouse. Who. Gave you. The tip.”
“I don’t fucking know, I don’t work in the call centers!”
The woman shouts back. Leaning back, Fischer responds without emotion.
“A name. Give me a name.”
The woman replies.
“Sarge said it was related to the distressed member of the diaspora I saw at the mall, that is all I know.”
Thinking on it for a moment, Fischer rubs his chin, and asks
“This member of the diaspora, was it a girl? Around 9 years old? Same day as the bombing?”
The woman responds, as conversational as being strapped down to a gurney could allow.
“Yeah. Used a challenge phrase to see if we were Saratha. Wouldn’t answer anything straight, asked for help getting out of the city. At first I thought it was a child abuse incident but when the bombing happened it couldn’t have been a coincidence.”
‘So that's where she went’
Fischer thinks to himself. He then asks the woman.
“Why did you shoot at government agents?”
The women gets defensive, saying.
“No one told us Law Enforcement was already there. We turned on our lights and then suddenly started taking fire. If we stopped moving we would have been hit with another missile.”
Flashing the woman a quick fake smile, Fischer presses her further.
“Pity for you. Tell me everything you know about the assassin, David Mizrahi”
The woman rattles off details on the man, as if reciting from a fact sheet.
“Judean Origin, claims to have been hired by nearly every major power back in the Cold War, & killed one of our aspects back in ‘99.”
Satisfied the woman knew little more than he did about the shooter, he backtracks his line of questioning.
“Tell me everything you know about that girl. From the day of the bombing.”
She once again answers in a matter of fact matter, but ends with a hint of concern in her voice.
“She had a Mæna accent so I’m guessing she is a first generation diaspora, was rather pale so that matches with the Mæna accent. She approached me and my friends when I was off duty and used a Saratha challenge phrase, I answered. She asked where she could go to find help out of the city, I told her to ask the local counter Præfecti. She refused to answer anything straight. Is she okay?”
Realizing he was dealing with a grunt that would not be able to tell him anything meaningful he sighs, and looks to Charlie, Who looks highly uncomfortable at the mention of the girl. He decided to press the woman one final time, before he ended the interrogation.
“You have been most helpful. I require one more thing from you, more information. I need to know everything, who you work for, where they are located, who pays them, anything. Everything. You tell me that, and I forget you killed several officers of the law. Let alone the injuries and damages you caused. And you get to forget we ever had this conversation.”
The woman seems to be confused that her agency is seemingly unrecognized.
“Saratha’s central regional office. . .”
Unphased, he commands
“Keep talking”
“We crowdsource our funding and occasionally request some from the homeland.”
She trails off, and when Fischer doesn’t respond, she continues
“My unit is. . . was subservient to the local Counter Pontiff, although we weren’t able to get his approval for our operation due to the time sensitive nature.“
Getting impatient, Fischer yells
“Names goddamnit! Give me names, locations, actionable intel, clearly you’ve heard of it!
Looking confused, the woman says.
“Counter Palkhaw of the Boreal Sanctuary”
Calming himself, he says coldly
“So you have nothing to offer other than publicly available information?”
Getting annoyed, she yells
“We are a public agency, I don’t know what to tell you!”
Giving the woman a solemn look, he says
“Pity.”
He looks over to Charlie, and gives him a becking motion, before walking out the door. Charlie follows close behind him, leaving the woman alone in the room. Several tense moments go by, before another office agent walks into the room, and reaches into his suit jacket pocket. Producing from it a 9mm handgun, he continues to close the gap between himself and the woman. Outside the room, Fischer asks Charlie
“So, what happened to the girl? She escaped?”
Charlie starts to answer
“No, Attacked by more disappearing-”
He is interrupted by a muffled BANG. BANG BANG of the gun going off inside the room. The sound of the casings hitting the floor is almost as loud as the gunshots themselves.
“-goons, probably working for the asshole we just killed.”
Not breaking his stoicism, Fischer replies
“I doubt that, very much.”
Shaking his head, and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, charlie says
“I can explain everything boss…Just give me some time to write it up in an official report”
Not breaking eye contact with the man, Fischer says, some menace creeping into his voice
“See to it that you do.”
Inside a conference room in OIA HQ
2022
“...And it is with that I conclude my remarks on case 782B. Supplemental materials to the original report point to files I do not have the clearance for holding additional information. Based on the information present, I believe that the subject of the file made it away safely, though their current status is as of yet, undetermined. The two shooters also remain an enigma, though research by the archives department have turned up nothing in regards to their actions in the country. It is highly likely the girl and her two assailants fled the country, and continued their chase elsewhere. I can safely say given what we know, our national security is secure from any follow up attacks.”
Joseph Ditter finishes his long lecture on the contents of file F8-782B. The three men sitting at the conference table look anything but impressed. One man speaks up
“No doubt the threat is minimal, we knew that years ago. I must ask you, detective Ditter, what did you think of the subject of the file? Do you think she had the makings for something more?”
Nervously, Ditter responds.
“Yes sir, she definitely had skills far beyond her years. Many of the interactions recorded make it seem as though she was trained in some form of interrogation resistance, or she is extremely shy. Given the nature of the case, I believe it is the former.”
Another one of the men speaks up.
“And given this, Mr. Ditter, what would you assess the girl’s threat level to this country to be, should she have survived and grown up.”
Once again, Ditter replies nervously.
“Low, sir. All accounts in the file tell us she is mostly non threatening to those within the kingdom, and may even harbor some form of attachment for it.”
Seemingly satisfied with his answers, the final man says.
“Very good, I’ll have someone from Archives send over some material for you to add to the file, then send it off to William for filing. Dismissed.”
Nodding his head enthusiastically, Ditter quickly says.
“Right away sir.”
Before hurrying out of the room.
Meanwhile, Minna Eis walks down the halls of the office’s main HQ, intent on finding her quarry. So intent that she does not notice an agent coming down the opposite end of the hallway. She promptly smacks into him, sending a stack of papers to the floor. Minna Eis would also fall, sending her face first onto the floor, leaving her blonde hair in a puddle. Her arms remained held up to maintain a death grip on her own papers.
The man starts to bend down to retrieve his papers, and says rather gruffly.
"You wanna watch where you're going?"
The girl would angrily bring her head up, her black framed glasses showing a visible crack as they highlight her half herzanian blond eyes. A three second long exasperated exhale of anger would come from her nostrils as she brings herself up, deciding it would be best to not get into a verbal spat with the man. Getting a good look at him for the first time, the man looks very familiar, though time and stress have certainly aged his form. The man has a salt and pepper buzzcut, with the inklings of wrinkles starting to set in on his face. It looks as though he was once in peak physical condition, but has not had to use it in many years. For his part, the man looks at the girl more closely and says, eyeing her with suspicion.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around the office before. I’m Senior Agent Fischer, Investigations, you are?”
The girl’s anger evaporates out of her body and her eyes soften as she seems to think on the man, adjusting her glasses ever so slightly. A barely audible “Hmm. . .” Would come from her before she seems to realize she was being talked to.
“Oh, I’m Minna Eis. A transfer to Investigations: Special Cases Unit.”
She says with pride. Fichser has a glint of recognition in his eyes when he finally hear's the woman speak. Outstretching a hand, he says
“Quite the young buck for SCU, back in my time they usually required you to spend some time in some other units. Good to meet you Ms. Eis.”
She stares at his outstretched hand with a slightly confused look in her eyes as she looks him up and down before a small smile appears on her face as she takes his hand.
“I’ve always had a great appreciation and respect for the men and women of the SCU, what else can I say?”
Fischer gives the woman a smile, before yanking her close, and giving her a hug. Whispering into her ear as he did so.
“You need to work on your disguise craft, It’s good to see you're doing alright.”
After the brief hug, he lets the girl go, and starts to walk away.
“Be seeing you around, Ms. Eis.”
The girl’s cheeks would feel red as she is embraced by Elias, not finding it in herself to come up with a cheeky or sarcastic response to his kind words.
“You too, you too.”
She said in a hushed whisper that only she could hear as her eyes watched the aging man walk away, a glimpse of despair. After watching the man walk until he exited her field of view she would take a long and deep breath before she turned around and continued to walk somewhat aimlessly down the halls. As the girl wanders, a woman in her mid 50s, with grays streaking through what once was brown hair, pulls her to the side.
“You. I need you to deliver this to the archives department, Mr. Dernbach. He’ll have a file you’ll need to deliver as well.”
The older woman orders. Panic paralyzes the girl as she freezes like a deer in headlights. As she gets yanked off to the side, she stares with dead eyes and hindered emotion at the secretary, only meekly nodding as she takes the papers from the secretary. She blinks rapidly as she stares at the cover and then back at the secretary with her hindered emotions. Getting annoyed at the lack of movement from the girl, the secretary says in a dismissive tone.
“Well? Off with you! Archives. It’s important that this is done quickly.”
The girl looks back at the files one more time before mumbling.
“Of course, Ma’am. Yes, Ma’am.”
She then sharply turns around and begins speed walking down the hall, aiming for the archives. The walk to archives is uneventful for the girl, and takes her to a separate wing of the building. Inside, a monolith of filing cabinets, and a mountain of paperwork stretches as far as the eye can see. A man that looks to be in his early 20s is pouring over a series of papers on what looks like a desk, despite being buried in folders and stacks of papers. More people seem to be doing similar tasks on desks around him, and it dawns on the girl this room may have, at one point, been an office. The young man looks at the girl, and says sarcastically
“Let me guess, you're here to give me 3 weeks extra paid vacation, and all I have to do is sign on the dotted line?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
She says with a shrug. Looking at the file, and then to the girl, he responds sarcastically.
“Well, a boy can dream. Ah. I’ve been waiting for this file. Means Ditter is off the hook. Go give him this, and tell him to give me my files back, I miss them.”
He finishes with a smile, and hands her another bundle of files.
“So what exactly did Ditter do?”
The girl asks innocently. He snickers, and says
“Pissed in the wrong boss's cheerios if you ask some people.”
The girl tilts her head to one side, and says
“How peculiar. Mind if I ask what I’ll be bringing him?”
Waving a finger, he says.
“Tsk tsk. You know the regulation. It’s for the case he’s working on, I’m sure he’ll love that. Now if you don’t mind”
He gesture’s to his buried desk.
“I’m kinda busy. You got anything else you need?”
“Of course, sorry for the intrusion.”
She says with a light nod of the head as she begins waking out with the new files, unsure where exactly this goose chase was supposed to take her. After being frustrated for several minutes of fruitless looking for her target's desk, she was finally pointed in the right direction by a helpful office worker.
…
Sitting down at his desk, Ditter lets the heavy file slam down as he sighed heavily. Nothing about that meeting made sense to him. When making the briefing, he had assumed that it would be about the gunmen, and their potential resurgence in a post war Galavaria, but instead it was about the child they were seemingly after. None of it made sense. He continued to stew in his own thoughts, as a blonde girl made her way towards his desk. The girl approached his desk fully, gently laying the papers on an empty section of his desk. Glancing at the file, he grimaces.
“This is a joke right? Dernbach put you up to this?”
He half heartedly asks.
“Derbach told me to give you this. Beats me why the stack is so heavy though, if it was a joke it would be one wasteful one, only one planet and all that.”
She responds. This only serves to deepen his grimace. He leans back in his chair and groans.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Mumbling under his breath, he says.
“All over a child, for fuck sakes”
Perking up, the girl asks.
“What might all this be about? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Ditter looks at her with borderline disdain, before sighing, and explaining.
“This big fuckin thing”
He says picking up the massive file and letting it hit the desk for effect.
“Is a F series file, normally meant for groups, or persons of extreme interest, as you know. Weirdest thing, it looks like it fits all the bill of a file that would keep our agents busy, yet its marked as a fuckin cold case. Worst part, what I thought was the main takeaway isn’t even what the bosses wanted out of my report, and I’m starting to think this assignment was a big joke to screw with me.”
He explains.
“Jesus Christ, that stack is huge. What does it even detail?”
She inquired as her pose became less formal, leaning a bit on the desk as she eyed the documents.
"A single. Fucking. Girl."
He swings his arms around for emphasis.
"Can you believe that?"
He asks incredulously.
“What exactly did she do?! Wait. . . girl as in young woman or girl as in a literal minor?”
She asks excitedly.
“Yeah. A child. And I can tell you all this because of this”
He says, holding up the file the girl brought.
“Makes this whole thing one big joke”
He says holding up the file the girl brought.
“Why would they be handing you this stack with this seal if it wasn’t a joke? I really doubt it’s some kind of test.”
She asks, curiosity overtaking her.
“Yeah. Its all one big fuckin joke, and I’m the punchline”
He says with an exasperated sigh.
“Mind if I take a crack at it? I can’t imagine that all this shit is over one child? What the hell did they do?”
She says, not losing her enthusiasm. He eyes the girl with suspicion for a moment, and says.
“You trying to get fired? Do you not know what this means?”
He asks, pointing to a royal seal on the file the girl brought, a familiar one at that.
“Who are you again?”
He asks, almost as if he was talking to a child that was lost.
“I’m Minna Eis. Got transferred to Investigations, Special Cases Unit to help with all our MIA.”
She responds smartly. Seemingly satisfied with her response, he motions back to the seal.
“You ever seen a genuine seal in your life? Like a real deal seal, not some photocopy. With how new you are, I certainly doubt it”
The girl looks lost in thought for a moment.
“Can’t say I have. . . If you don’t mind me asking what does it mean exactly?”
Minna asked, knowing exactly what the hell it was and that she had a ring with the royal family’s seal hidden in her pocket. ’That cheeky mother fucker.’ She thought to herself as stared at the file with fake emotion. She shook her head, continuing.
“I’ve only recently graduated recently. . .”
"That's what I thought"
He says absentmindedly compiling the folder.
"That seal is the word of royalty, marking this file as for their eyes only. ergo, the file is effectively permanently shut. Does also mean that the case is closed too, so I'm sure someone will be happy about that, and a fair few might go unhappy.”
He says, musing the idea over in his head like it was some great conundrum. Leaning forward a bit, the girl asks.
“So you're telling me once we give this to the archives it probably won’t be seen again. . . are you not curious?”
"Curious! Lady I've been forced to read every last sentence of this thing, curious is the last thing I am."
He exclaims smacking the large folders for effect.
"Although it is pretty interesting that someone in the castle took an interest in this file, enough to toss out a gag order on it."
He muses, while drumming his fingers on the stack.
“Can you at least form a hypothesis based on what you have read so far? If it was me it would be living rent free in the back of my mind for as long I’ve lived. . . maybe that is why they have stuck me compiling those MIA. . .”
She says, clearly taking a keen interest into the file.
"Hypothesis? Oh what?"
He says, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. The girl presses further.
“You said all these papers are on a child, yet you haven’t let slip on what they did in order to get so many pages. I’m guessing you don’t actually know at this point.”
Tapping the file he says, rather condescendingly.
"You're new, but by god I didn't think you were that new. I'm not supposed to tell you that, clearance and all that. But..."
He trails off and strokes his chin in mock thought
"This file is about to get locked away anyway, and the likelihood of someone from the royal family coming down here to check and make sure no one else looked at it is slim to none. Plus my career is good either way, doing work for the bosses tends to do that for you. But you, why risk your career over a file?"
He asks. Her enthusiasm breaks, and what appears to an outsider to be real emotion sneaks through.
“I’m bored.”
She says rather bluntly, an honest smile on her face as her form relaxes.
“Plus, how would they know? It’s not like if we open it a bunch of ink will spill on me as if I was shoplifting.”
Leaning back in his chair, he says, he says.
"Welp, it's your ass, not mine. The girl was the target of some bad killers, likely paid off by someone with the power and knowhow to find them. Could be 100 reasons why. My personal bet is tying up some loose ends of a monarchy. Michu is the obvious choice, though the girl doesn't seem to be listed as Michese. As for why she got so many pages? Little girl brought a lot of trouble with her, and, if the reports I've read are to be believed, has been spotted in country since. Cause the kinda hell she was at the center of and you tend to attract our attention. Curiosity satisfied?"
The girl seems to think for a moment, but doesn’t voice her thoughts.
“. . . sounds like something out of a book.”
She says rather bluntly as she leans back.
“An amateurish one. Premise obviously needs some work.”
She stares at the files he had assembled before she brought him the additional ones, hypothesizing that there had to be nearly a hundred pages.
“And you don’t wanna know what the new stack is about?”
Ditter laughs, hard.
“I’d say the same thing, If I didn’t know a fair few of the people in this story personally. Would it make it better or worse for the story if I told you a prince was involved in it all as well. Terror attacks, a scared little girl, and a prince. Swear it's all true though. Lord knows the names on the wall are.”
He ends on a somber note.
“Would it not bring shame to their memory if the story where to go unsolved then?”
She asks quietly. Without looking at her, he taps the seal again.
“You can thank whoever in the castle closed the file for that. It’s out of our hands.”
He says dismissively.
“I don’t know about you but it seems like at the current moment it is very much in your hands. . .”
She says, shrugging her shoulders. Giving her the side eye once again, he says.
“Yeah, and? You think I’m gonna magically solve a damn near ten year old cold case?”
A smug grin comes across the girl’s face.
“You never know, sometimes the answer can be staring right at you.”
Scoffing, the man retorts.
“Ha! Like you think you could actually solve a case like this. Dream on, newbie.”
Maintaining her smug demeanor, the girl has a surge in confidence and begins to tease the man.
“Did your parents never tell you to believe in yourself?”
Rolling his eyes at her childish antics, Ditter responds.
“Oh yeah, I’m sure you're really clever. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
He motions to the files. Huffing, the girl says simply.
“Pussy.”
To which the man looks flabbergasted.
“What?”
He says, unsure whether to laugh or get angry.
“You will never get anywhere in this industry with that attitude.”
She says in a mocking tone as she produces a small carton of cigarettes from her pocket, placing one in between her lips as she seems to feel around the same pocket for something to light it with. Getting angry now, the man snatches the cigarette from her hands.
“Hey dammit. You know the rules. No smoking in the building. You got some nerve, you one day wonder. I’ve seen more cases in the short time I’ve been here than you’ve seen birthdays. Watch your mouth.”
He hisses.
“You might learn something if you pay attention.”
She says as she seems to find what she was looking for in her pocket, producing a signet ring with the crest of the royal family on it. Dropping it on his desk without a care in the world. Snatching the ring up, he examines it closely.
“Impossible”
He mumbles. While he marveled at the piece, she would pick a new cigarette from the carton before producing a silver lighter, lighting it up as she held it in between her fingers.
“I always wanted to see what his majesty was hiding. So let’s open this bitch.”
She says, excitement once again pouring into her voice. In response, the man holds up the ring tentatively.
“If this is a fake, you’ll hang for it.”
He says slowly.
“Such a thing is easier said than done.”
She says as she snatches the ring from his hand before depositing it back in her pocket.
“Now, where were we?”
Blinking a few times with a confused look on his face, he responds.
“You want to open the file. What saves my ass from letting some stranger open a file that's supposed to be closed.”
Ignoring the question, she poses one of her own.
“Have you ever been hunted like a dog, Mr. Ditter?”
“No.”
He responds simply.
“Then I suggest if you want it to remain that way you will have to trust me on this one.”
Giving her a curious look, he slides the file across the table, close enough for both of them to be able to read its contents. A small and mischievous smile crept on her face before it got despoiled within a second, vanishing as soon as it came. After all these years she finally had it in front of her, the whole rotten thing. She shook her head slightly as a slight scoff came from her. She placed the lit cigarette between her lips and inhaled before pulling it from her lips, a puff of smoke came out as she exhaled. Her body tensed up again as she whispered to herself “Suck it Jorge.” Barely close enough for the goon to hear. She then looked over to him with a blank explanation.
“You ready?”
She says, anticipation palpable in her voice.
Without another word, he throws the file open, splaying a few loose pages across the desk. One of which, being a sheet of paper with the words
BY ORDER OF HM JORGE BRANDT, THIS CASE IS CLOSED
Under it, it has the impression of his personal seal. The first page sitting in the folder appears to be a handwritten piece by Jorge, with the words at the top. Before that lies an official report.
Explanation at length, the closing of file F8-782. For general use. See section B for use by codenamed Lambda
The girl’s eyes would heavily fixate on the personal letter as she seemed to stare at it for several seconds without any movement nor comment. Eventually her hand would slowly reach out to the file as she would take it in her hand and begin reading what Jorge had written. The first page, typed neatly and signed reads as such.
#F8-782C:
FOR USE ONLY BY THOSE GRANTED THE AUTHORITY OF THE HIGHEST OFFICES
The subject of file has recently come under scrutiny due to increased levels of activity in the country. An independent investigation headed by myself and a trusted group of my staff have concluded that the subject is an asset to the nation, and therefore does not require any further monitoring. See attached debriefing from HM Karl Brandt for evidence [section D]. The threat surrounding said subject is also determined to be neutralized, as no further incidents have come up since 2014. All involved with the original incident have since been inactive, or killed in the operations listed in F8-782B section F. It is therefore concluded by my investigation that an organization attempted to assassinate the subject of the file, but the timely intervention of our forces prevented such an end. I have it on good authority that the subject of the file is still alive as of the signing of this document, and the threat to her life from such a malignant group is no longer present. It is by this evidence that I declare file number F8-782B solved, and closed.
Another page, this time handwritten, reads
#F8-782C Section B: FOR THE EYES OF CODENAMED LAMBDA ONLY
Hey Schneehase,
You just won me 50 Goldmünze from Karl and Michael, thanks. On a serious note, I know you told me not to seal your file, but I couldn’t help it. You seemed so uncomfortable at its existence, and I felt really bad about our conversation in the bar. Consider this my crappy way of apologizing. I hope to one day make it up to you fully, and repair the damage done by that night. Remember, I’m always looking out for you,
Your Brother,
Jorge Brandt.
A sharp and somewhat angry exhale came from the girl as she gripped the paper as she read it. A sense of calm took her as she gently folded the handwritten paper and put it in her pocket, emotionless eyes falling on her wrist watch as she watched the seconds tick by.
At the head of the file lies a new cover page, it reads:
SEALED BY ORDER OF HM JORGE BRANDT ON 07/13/22
July 13th, 2022
Subject of report: Series of terror attacks by unknown state actors targeting a lone individual within the country.
Status: CLOSED
Threat level: N/A
Summery:
It is believed that the individual codenamed ‘Lambda’ is not of Guthic origin. Individual is described as being a female, given age being 9, and is as of now, not in the country. Her current status is unknown, but she is believed to still be alive. Photographs can be found on page 11. Incident began on October 30th, 2013…
Inside SAT-2’s team room
The men of the Office of Internal Affairs Special Actions Team sat enraptured as Fischer and an Forgien Relations Group agent who only answered to ‘Peaches’ gave a briefing on their target. Much to the chagrin of many in SAT, a detchatchment from the army’s premier counter terror force, SOD-C, was also present. ‘Peaches’ was up first for the briefing, lecturing about the target they were after:
“Your target is one David Mizrahi, a Judean mercenary. He is wanted across the globe, and is considered armed and, I cannot stress this point enough. Extremely dangerous. It is for this reason that while this is ostensibly a kill/capture mission, I have received permission from the highest office to kill him if he so much as flinches the wrong way during the raid. Agents from Group have reconnoitered the safehouse he has been using for his dead drops, and have determined it is unoccupied. Intelligence collected from his sniper’s nest leads us to believe whoever did the drop is long gone, and more disturbingly, potentially of Galavarian citizenship. It is for this reason I have gotten approval for SOD-C to be joining our task force on this raid. They, along with other military assets have been approved by the king himself to ensure there are no leaks, and no mistakes. Mizrahi will be at the safehouse in 6 hours, and he won’t be leaving. Agents from Group will take positions around the house before the raid, and ensure he doesn’t leave the premises without a tail. We’ve given them all thermals, and he shouldn’t be able to sneak past that. Ah, that reminds me”
He clicks around the slideshow for a grainy photo of a man shaped silhouette fading out of existence.
“Your target has the ability to vanish, on command. While not full spectrum, it’s damn effective. I’ll pass on the brass tacks to agent Fischer, head of the task force.”
Stepping away from the slideshow, Fischer takes the pointer from the man from FRG, and flips to a video of drone footage of the house.
“As you can see, the house is on a small plot of land some 27km outside Varbrook’s outskirts. Before being bought out by what we now know to be a shell company, it was a small farm that would host fall festivities for families in the suburbs of the city. The only appreciable bit of cover is a treeline around 400 meters to the northwest of the house. Because of this, we have received authorization to arm one of our drones with one AGM-114 and one GBU-12.”
As this fact permeated the room there were several whistles and murmurs. One man speaks up
“Hellfires and paveways? Just how dangerous do they think this guy is?”
Nodding his head, and pushing past the interruption, Fischer continues
“The drone is being armed as a failsafe. As my colleague from Group said, this man must not be allowed to leave. Alive or dead is up to his actions. As for how we will conduct the raid, it will be a two stage plan.”
Clicking a few slides ahead, he pulls up slides with general information on them
“A team of 18 SAT officers will take two of our UH-60s and follow in a force of 15 SOD operators riding in their little birds. The SAT team will then fast rope down onto the west and east side of the compound, here and here.”
He says pointing to areas just outside a 4ft high concrete fence that surrounds the inner part of the property.
“From there, 9 men, from what I will now be referring to as ‘Team 1’ will take up positions inside the fence, and cut off all entries and exits. Team 2 will be tasked with holding down the east side of the building, and covering the road for the main assault force.”
There is an audible groan from the crowd as they realize they are being sidelined.
“I understand that you might be upset that the office has been sidelined for the main assault on the compound. However due to certain members of the royal families…insistence that this be a mistake free operation, they were called in. The remainder of SAT-2 not in the birds will roll down the main road shortly after the main assault force arrives, allowing for Team 2 to search nearby structures for actionable intel or Gamma-1, the codename for Mr. Mizrahi. SOD will breach the main building via breaching charge on the eastern side of the house. Once they do, provided there is no fire coming from the house, Team one will search the barn on the western end of the house, while team 2 looks through the garage on the east side. I’ll be with the rest of SAT at the motorized blocking position, and at this point, or if the drone spots an anomaly on the thermals, we will be tasked with searching the abandoned field.”
Coming to the end of the slides, he begins to pace up and down the length of the crowd.
“Your ROE is simple. If you are fired upon, shoot. If he tries to run, shoot. If he makes an attempt to surrender, take it. We are not obligated to nor will I ask any of you to put yourselves in harm's way to force a surrender. Any questions?”
One man raised his hand, saying
“What if he has help, or gets help sometime during the raid?”
Fischer nods his head enthusiastically
“Excellent question. We don’t expect him to have backup, but if he does, or civilians attempt to get near, follow this simple protocol: Shout, shoot, shoot. Get the drivers attention, and attempt to get them to turn back, if that fails, fire a warning shot. If that fails, shoot to kill.”
There's a number of murmurs once again, wary of such a loose ROE.
“I’m aware how bad that sounds, like we are going back to the days of the badfields. I assure you, this is not the case. This ROE is only to come into effect if someone is clearly trying to breach the blocking position. Are there any further questions?”
The room went silent.
“Alright. Get your gear sorted and get to the airfield, you have 5 hours.”
The room then goes into a frenzy as the various teams rush to don their black armor and collect weapons from the armory. Noticeable still are the SOD-C operators, who clad in their brand new multicam fatigues, already had their kits waiting for them at the airfield.
Later, at an unnamed airfield
2132 hours
Men perform last minute checks and don their night vision goggles. Helicopters start up their engines, and the dull whine of engines soon drowns out all other noise. Once all the operators piled into their respective choppers, Fischer’s voice came over the radio
This is Watcher to all TF Nightcrawler elements, check in
One by one, the teams checked in.
“Team 1, ready”
“Team 2, standing by”
“Chalk-3 green”
Said the team leader for the SOD element.
Fischer's voice comes back over the radio.
“Watcher to all Nightcrawler elements, Marigold, I say again, Marigold”
With the go word being given, the choppers took off for the airfield, and made their way to the lonely farmhouse outside Varbrook. Simultaneously, 10 MRAPs left the airfield, with the follow on force. Grainy cell phone footage soon emerges on Galavaria’s military enthusiasts forums of a convoy of helicopters flying over the suburbs of Varbrook. Many raised questions as to the purpose, but this discussion was soon drowned out by other news to come out of the night.
2218 hours
In the skies near the target building
The helicopters came screaming over the suburbs of Varbrook, and rapidly descended on the target.
30 Seconds!
The pilot in charge of the UH-60 shouted into his radio. The men of teams 1 and 2 began preparing themselves for the fast rope. The little birds also started their final descent to land the SOD-C operators on the eastern side of the compound. After a few more tense moments, the helicopters came to a stop above their destination, and the crew chief shouted.
Go! Go! Go!
The first man leapt into the cold night sky just as the first little bird touched down, its SOD complemented leaping out. In the distance, the MRAPs can be seen closing on the farmhouse. Team one, as planned, quickly fast ropes down without issue, and sets up on the west side of the farmhouse, with team 2 doing the same in the east. The SOD operators quickly scale the wars of the compound using mini ladders, while the MRAPs pull up the compound blaring a simple message.
“ATTENTION, DAVID MIZRAHI. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”
As the message blares, SOD-C races across the open area between the wall and the house and takes cover on the back eastern side as the breacher begins to set the charges. Flashlights from the SAT teams and SOD-C paint the house in moving white light, while the men of the mobile group begin to set up around the road. Fischer is among them, and seems quite happy. Noticing this, one of the SAT officers near him says
“Good to be back in the saddle, eh Elias?”
Smiling, and throwing his M4 over his shoulder via a sling, he says
“Absolutely. You have no idea how much I missed this.”
There is a loud BANG that comes from the compound as a hole is ripped into the side of the building. Following it are several dull thumps of flashbangs.
Not even a second passes from the moment the breaching charge goes off and the team is met with automatic and sustained gunfire as the hitman inside the house grabs a man dressed in a rather disheveled way. He throws the unknown man behind the cover of a flipped over table as he slides behind it himself, grabbing a fragmentation grenade from his trench coat’s pocket as he did so. Pulling out the pin, and cooking it for a couple seconds, he tosses it into the breach. Moving away from the breach hole, the fire passes harmless by the SOD operators as they try to return fire. This is silenced when the grenade sails out, and detonates, causing serious injuries to the men closest to the hole. In response, The SOD team pulled further back, and the SAT teams started pouring fire into the building. With Chaos erupting, Fischer takes cover behind one of the MRAPs, and yells.
“Jesus fucking Christ! Who is this guy?!”
As chaos consumes the building a convoy of three black HUMVEEs maneuvers their way between the trees and foliage that parallels the road leading up the farmhouse. Driving straight towards the area with the pedal to the metal, one of the HUMVEEs is equipped with a fifty caliber heavy machine gun on its turret ring. As they reached ever closer to the farmhouse they finally turned on their headlights, illuminating the path ahead of them. Seeing the new threat, a lone M249 gunner atop one of the MRAPs calls
“I got three vics coming down the– Holy Shit!”
In Fischer’s ear, the drone operator says over the radio.
“I got the lead vic with the gun mount in my sights, permission to engage?”
Shouting back into his radio, to all, he replies
“Engage! Light those motherfuckers up!”
Saying aloud to the blocking force, he shouts
“I got heat comin! Stay down, start shooting after impact!”
After a few tense moments of the HUMVEEs getting far too close to comfort, the lead vehicle with the .50 cal mount disappears in a flash of light and a terribly loud BOOM. As dirt and debris rain around them, the blocking force begins to pour fire into the encroaching vehicles. Before the gunners on top of the Humvees can bring their powerful machine guns to bear, they are cut down by the accurate rifle fire coming from the blocking force. The truck Fischer was using for cover was also hammering away with a M249. raking up and down the convoy in erratic bursts.
Back at the house, the Hitman lays down a torrent of fire with a fresh magazine of ammunition before sprinting over to another set of cover. Rummaging through one of the wide drawers, he produces a light machine gun, popping out from cover as he throws the bipod up and begins to pepper the general direction of the breach. The other man lays down on the floor completely prone to avoid fire as best as he can. Seeing that the SOD team is now completely pinned down, Team 1 begins to make their way to the front door of the house, and a breacher comes up quickly to shotgun the door off its hinges. It’s kicked in, and the men storm into the house.
As the lead Humvee burns, the two other Humvees begin zig zagging opposite of each other as one operator loaded a flare into his m203 and fired in the direction of blocking force. The flare sent a miniature sun to illuminate the Galvarians as the operators poked their rifles out of the windows and began firing at anything and everything they could see. Now having his NODs washed out, Fischer curses to himself and begins shooting at the windows of the vehicles.
“Aim for the muzzle flashes and windows!”
He shouts over the din of combat.
The Humvees' occupants sustain their fire as they ram through the blockade of the house at top speed, dropping flash bangs out their windows as they pass by Fischer. The flashbangs leave many in the blocking force disoriented, and the fire tapers off. Not before what is left of the convoy is hit with a hail of bullets. Dead bodies can be seen slumped out of the side of the Humvees, along with many agents lying on the ground, some injured, some worse. One of the last two mobile humvees suddenly goes erratically off course, after the front windshield was shattered by the overwhelming torrent of fire. It ended its course flipped over a drainage ditch that ran alongside the farm compound. Soon the sole surviving humvee found itself crashing through the front door of the farmhouse and surprising the hell out of Team 1, who scrambled to get out of the way. The crash sends the vast majority of the occupants into a state of concussion. Half of team one lay sprawled around the intruding vehicle, too stunned to do anything. A single operator stumbled his way out of the first Humvee with a MP5 cradled in his youthful hands as if it were a child. As he falls onto the ground he looks around frantically, only now seeing the hitman with the machine gun turning towards him in utter confusion. Without a moment of hesitation he sends a burst of pistol caliber rounds at the hitman, one striking him dead center in the head as he flopped to the ground. The operator then stumbles onto his feet and takes a handful of steps in his concussed state, feeling a sudden sharp pain in his side as he falls to the ground, seeing the tramp with a pistol drawn. What members of team two are still standing also lay a torrent of fire into the child with the MP5, dropping him dead where he stands. With the murderous machine gun fire now stopped, SOD-C rushing into the building, and peppers the remaining shooter’s hiding place with holes. They stop shooting when a small pool of blood appears from underneath the table he was using for concealment. The intruding Humvee is also laced with fire, riddling the already battered vehicle with bullet holes. Outside, Fischer, now recovered from the concussion grenades, though his vision still swam, frantically calls on the radio.
“Home Plate this is Watcher! Request immediate assistance!”
A calm, collected voice on the other end replies
“Copy, Watcher. Reinforcements in route.”
Those left uninjured in the blockade rapidly descend on the house, shouting commands to whoever was left in the Humvees.
“Hands!”
“Come out with your Hands up!”
The shouts, and variations of them, are repeated several times.
No movement would come from the HUMVEEs for nearly ten seconds before the second HUMVEE’s right side passenger door creaks open as a barely alive survivor falls face first out. She seemed to be in her early twenties and of the same ethnic descent of the mystery girl, although her skin was not as pale. Her hair that was once neat was now a mess and organized into a long ponytail held together with a hair tie of every color. She was wearing a black tactical uniform, although it was more red with how covered in blood it is. She has a black high cut helmet and a plate carrier with a back patch that reads ‘Saratha’. As the woman collapses onto the floor she begins to cough up blood. She is clearly wounded, her radio activating during the fall, sending a long line of static and painful coughs into the frequency of local law enforcement’s emergency line.
With the office goons not on the local police radio, and the gunfire finally stopped, Fischer decides to take charge of the situation once again.
“Headcount! Who's up, and who needs medical attention! I want that house tossed over, and I want these fucking Humvees secured. They don’t have their hands up when you pop the doors, shoot the bastards!”
He yells into his radio. SOD-C remains in the house to conduct Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE), while the SAT teams, what's left of the uninjured, slowly close in on the Humvees. Fischer motions to two men closest to him, and points to the body.
“Secure that one”
He orders, keeping his rifle trained on the body. The two men quickly get to her, tie the raggedly breathing woman’s hands behind her back. Fischer then notices the writing on the back of her plate carrier and says aloud.
“Aw hell.”
Quickly coming to a realization, he says over the radio.
“Forget what I said, drag every one of the occupants of those vehicles out and start to render aid!”
There's confusion among the officers present, before Fischer bellows
“NOW!”
Not needing any more motivation, the men hop too. The two men originally searching the actively bleeding out woman on the ground quickly switch to provide first aid. One by one, the Humvees are opened, and the gristly sights inside speak for themselves. The interiors are riddled with bullet holes, and their occupants are all slumped over in their seats. Blood and bits of tissues coat the inside of the trucks. Realizing he might be standing over the lone survivor, Fischer swears loudly, kicking the nearest Humvee as he did so.
“God damn mother fucking IDIOTS! What were you thinking!”
He continues to swear violently, and the rapidly fading women on the ground, and to the lord himself. Confused, one of his men asks
“Hey why can’t we just smoke em sir? Who the hell are these guys?”
To which he responds.
“These assholes are a part of some far east cult. They have militias and other organized groups active in a few countries, mostly out east. They are entirely harmless, and usually work with local law enforcement. In short, we just lit up a foreign PMC that was ambivalent to our nation.”
A few murmurs escape nearby agents, cursing the idiotic militia. The woman begins to cough violently as her eyes end up on the SAT Team rendering aid and to Fischer in particular, her eyes confused. The eye contact is violently broken through a big series of bloody coughs.
“Do you know why the snow is white, Officer. . . . ?” She says in absolute disbelief.
Slowly, teams start to report on the wounded, and the dead. During the brief but intense firefight, the intruder's bullets had largely missed their marks due to the nature of their attack. This did not, however, stop lucky hits. 3 officers lay dead, along with most of the task force wounded, some critically. With this in mind, and anger boiling up inside him, Fischer waved off the man about to administer morphine to the woman, and had them sit her up straight. Grabbing the woman's face with one hand, and wrenching it so she was forced to look at him, he hisses.
“Unless you want to take this conversation to a black site, you better start makin sense, and fast.”
The woman violently coughs before she says, her eyes fluttering.
“Met a distressed and recent diaspora member before the mall bombing. Tip came in, Mizrahi spotted. Bastard took out an Aspect in the nineties. . .”
The woman moans in pain as she tries to find the strength to continue.
“We had to take him out.”
She finishes with a croak. Letting the woman's face go with a dissatisfied huff, he motions for the agent to stick her with morphine. As the drug starts to take effect, he stands up and has an epiphany.
‘That girl said the same thing just the other day. She can’t actually be connected to all this shit, can she?’
He thinks to himself.
“What did you mean, by ‘know why snow is white?’”
He asks in a commanding voice.
The woman would let out an exasperated sigh of relief as she is injected with the morphine, grunting slightly.
“It’s the challenge to a counter sign, derived from some of our texts, meant to identify friend or foe.”
Looking back to the bodies, now being lined up in a row for transportation, he turns his gaze to the woman with disgust.
“No friend of ours. Throw her in the back of truck 2. She so much as looks at you the wrong way, shoot her. We’ll continue this talk at the hospital.”
He turns to walk away as the two guards hoist her to her feet, and begin leading her to the nearest MRAP.
Back at the hospital
A lone guard stands outside Is’s room, idly smoking a cigarette when another guard, along with nurse Charlie come running over.
“Shit’s all bad man. They had to call in a strike from the predator, and now they are requesting backup. All hands on deck, I’ll watch the girl.”
Charlie says to the man. The guard that was with him adds.
“C’mon, the bastards hit the position in trucks, so we’re gonna grab the .50 out of the armory, I need a second set of hands.”
The both go rushing away, and Charlie tentatively enters the room, to see if they woke the girl with the commotion. Is was just bringing herself up from the bed and sheepishly rubbing her eyes, as she tried to wake herself up. Unsure what the new rush of feet and voices were about, the soft moonlight illuminating her slightly.
“Ah, good evening young one. Sorry to bother you so late. We had to borrow your guard for some important business.”
Just as he says that, another office runs by yelling after the two that just left.
“We got the bastard! I have confirmation that Gamma-1 is down!”
There is a general cheer that echoes down the hall. Attempting to distract the girl, Charlie asks.
“So, you met Prince Jorge? What did you think of him? It’s not often someone gets one on one time with royalty.”
“The Prince is really nice. . .”
She says with embarrassment as she pulls her legs to her chest and hugs them. Suddenly the excitement from down the hall stops alongside the sound of rushing feet. A sound similar to that of a sack of potatoes hitting the floor echos as something creates a thud in the hall, soon followed by two more.
Charlie gives the first genuine smile Is has ever seen him have.
“You know, you can be a cute bugger sometimes. I’m glad you found someone to talk to, for what it's worth.”
On hearing the noise, he starts to turn around.
“What the hell?”
Charlie would say dubiously as he reached into his lab coat pocket. The girl buries her face into her knees as her cheeks are filled with a bright red, too embarrassed to answer. Not a sound comes from outside the hall.
“No need to be shy about it, why don’t you tell me what your favorite part from interacting with him was, or something else you liked.”
He says, trying to hide his nervousness.
“He is very nice and very handsome. . .” She would sheepishly admit as she raises her head from her knees, seeming to daydream of the Prince.
Pulling a radio out from his pocket, he says into it.
“Charlie to Home Plate, think I got something over by Lambda”
Putting the radio away when it squawks an acknowledgement, he pauses. A chill runs down his spine as he realizes he heard his radio call from outside the door.
His eyes remain glued to the door, and his hand goes back into his pocket, producing a compact 9mm handgun from another pocket.
“Hans? Is that you?”
He asks nervously. Giving a quick glance to the girl, he adds
“Stay behind me”
All gleefulness from the girl dissipates as she hops off the bed and positions herself behind Charlie. Just then the door knob would slowly be twisted open and pushed, revealing the body of a guard on the floor with his throat slit. With No one else is in sight, yet Charlie would feel a rush of air towards him and two sets of footsteps sprinting into the room. In a bout of panic, he shouts to the girl.
“If something happens to me, run! Fast as you can!”
He aims at the door and hesitantly puts his finger on the trigger. Right in front of Charlie a masked man would flicker into reality, a short sword in one hand and his other hand reaching out to grab Charlie’s gun. Seeing a figure apparition in front of him, Charlie exclaims.
“Fuck!”
Depressing the trigger of his pistol out of reflex. The shot deafens the room, and sails directly through the outstretched hand of the assailant. As the bullet penetrates the apparition’s hand, blood sprays onto Charlie and the Figure before the figure begins to flicker in and out of reality several times a second, blood seeming to float in the air when they disappear. A second and near identical man appears next to the injured figure, lunging at Charlie. He sends a knee into Charlie, knocking him to the ground and catching Charlie’s gun as he falls. Pushing past the pain with the help of adrenaline the first figure would stomp Charlie’s chest to the ground further as he begins to drive his sword into the nurse. Suddenly a plea would ring out from the girl in Khoslol.
“Just kill me, leave him alone!”
The second man looks off to the girl as the first holds his blade half an inch away from Charlie’s neck. Wheezing on the ground, Charlie croaks out
“Run…Run!”
Tears form in her eyes as the second man raises his sword and holds it right below the girl’s chin, staring at her, speaking back in Khoslol.
“Well, isn’t that a surprise.”
He says with a chuckle as the girl continues.
“No one else needs to die but me. . . please, let him go. . .” She pleads. The man holding her at sword point slowly pulls his sword from the girl’s chin as he sheathes it, followed by the first man, saying as he did so.
“Ten minutes. You deserve that at least.”
Immediately She runs past the two as the first man takes the magazine out of Charlie’s gun and pulls back the slide, sending an intact bullet in the air, with the second man catching it. The first man takes his foot off Charlie as the girl’s sprinting footsteps can barely be heard anymore. The two then seem to disappear from reality. Scrambling to a sitting position, Charlie waits a few moments before pulling out his radio. He screams into it with all his might.
“SHOOTERS IN THE BUILDING. SAME AS GAMMA-1. GIVING CHASE TO THE GIRL.”
The two remaining guards in the command center draw their pistols, and quickly move to intercept, taking the stairs up a floor to the girls room. The final two guards on perimeter duty meet up on the 1st floor, and work to cut off the assailant’s escape, carrying the only rifles left in the building. After several tense moments, the men of the hospital realize they are alone, and all three of the mysterious foreigners have given them the slip. Collecting themselves in the command room much later, Charlie moans to his colleagues.
“How in the hell are we supposed to explain this to the boss?”
Just then, a call comes in over the long range radio sitting in the room.
Home Plate, this is Watcher. ETA 2 mikes. One prisoner in need of enhanced aid.
Cursing himself, the world, and his situation, Charlie says.
“Fuck it then, we get answers out of the prisoner. I’ll go get the room ready, one of us can explain the situation to the boss later.”
…
The drive back to the hospital is quiet, as many are still recovering from the hectic events of the last hour. To very few people’s surprise, the dead drop was a bust, and only had some food, and more explosives for the assassin. They covered their tracks well, and the case would likely go no further because of it. This infuriated Fischer, who was determined to get some answers out of his lone captive. After pulling into the passenger drop off for the hospital, the woman was quickly led inside, and taken one floor above the mystery girl’s room, to the same interrogation chamber Is had seen not too long ago. Charlie stands outside, smoking a cigarette. He has a twisted smile on his face.
“Ah, Agent Fischer, I see you’ve brought me a friend.”
He says with glee. Fischer looks haggard, and in no mood for humor.
“Let's just get this done”
He says darkly. The woman, long since passed out from the ride over, is strapped down to a gurney in the room. Charlie begins hooking up an IV, and other health monitoring equipment to her. Laid out on a stand next to the gurney is an array of vials, scalpels and other horrid implements. The final thing he places down is a towel and bucket of water, next to the gurney. Looking at Charlie, Fischer says.
“Wake her up.”
Pressing a button near the wall, the woman’s body starts horribly convulsing as an electric shock is delivered to her system. The woman starts to scream out in pain, being zapped awake by the torturous volts of electricity ravaging her.
“Do I have your attention? Good.”
Fischer says, as emotionless and stoic as ever.
“Who tipped you off to the raid?”
He presses coldly. The woman responds, still barely conscious.
“We didn’t know you were raiding. We received a tip on our line with a very tight window of opportunity.”
Fischer gives a look to Charlie, who shrugs. Leaning in, Fischer says menacingly.
“If you lie to me, I’ll make you wish we plugged you back at the farmhouse. Who. Gave you. The tip.”
“I don’t fucking know, I don’t work in the call centers!”
The woman shouts back. Leaning back, Fischer responds without emotion.
“A name. Give me a name.”
The woman replies.
“Sarge said it was related to the distressed member of the diaspora I saw at the mall, that is all I know.”
Thinking on it for a moment, Fischer rubs his chin, and asks
“This member of the diaspora, was it a girl? Around 9 years old? Same day as the bombing?”
The woman responds, as conversational as being strapped down to a gurney could allow.
“Yeah. Used a challenge phrase to see if we were Saratha. Wouldn’t answer anything straight, asked for help getting out of the city. At first I thought it was a child abuse incident but when the bombing happened it couldn’t have been a coincidence.”
‘So that's where she went’
Fischer thinks to himself. He then asks the woman.
“Why did you shoot at government agents?”
The women gets defensive, saying.
“No one told us Law Enforcement was already there. We turned on our lights and then suddenly started taking fire. If we stopped moving we would have been hit with another missile.”
Flashing the woman a quick fake smile, Fischer presses her further.
“Pity for you. Tell me everything you know about the assassin, David Mizrahi”
The woman rattles off details on the man, as if reciting from a fact sheet.
“Judean Origin, claims to have been hired by nearly every major power back in the Cold War, & killed one of our aspects back in ‘99.”
Satisfied the woman knew little more than he did about the shooter, he backtracks his line of questioning.
“Tell me everything you know about that girl. From the day of the bombing.”
She once again answers in a matter of fact matter, but ends with a hint of concern in her voice.
“She had a Mæna accent so I’m guessing she is a first generation diaspora, was rather pale so that matches with the Mæna accent. She approached me and my friends when I was off duty and used a Saratha challenge phrase, I answered. She asked where she could go to find help out of the city, I told her to ask the local counter Præfecti. She refused to answer anything straight. Is she okay?”
Realizing he was dealing with a grunt that would not be able to tell him anything meaningful he sighs, and looks to Charlie, Who looks highly uncomfortable at the mention of the girl. He decided to press the woman one final time, before he ended the interrogation.
“You have been most helpful. I require one more thing from you, more information. I need to know everything, who you work for, where they are located, who pays them, anything. Everything. You tell me that, and I forget you killed several officers of the law. Let alone the injuries and damages you caused. And you get to forget we ever had this conversation.”
The woman seems to be confused that her agency is seemingly unrecognized.
“Saratha’s central regional office. . .”
Unphased, he commands
“Keep talking”
“We crowdsource our funding and occasionally request some from the homeland.”
She trails off, and when Fischer doesn’t respond, she continues
“My unit is. . . was subservient to the local Counter Pontiff, although we weren’t able to get his approval for our operation due to the time sensitive nature.“
Getting impatient, Fischer yells
“Names goddamnit! Give me names, locations, actionable intel, clearly you’ve heard of it!
Looking confused, the woman says.
“Counter Palkhaw of the Boreal Sanctuary”
Calming himself, he says coldly
“So you have nothing to offer other than publicly available information?”
Getting annoyed, she yells
“We are a public agency, I don’t know what to tell you!”
Giving the woman a solemn look, he says
“Pity.”
He looks over to Charlie, and gives him a becking motion, before walking out the door. Charlie follows close behind him, leaving the woman alone in the room. Several tense moments go by, before another office agent walks into the room, and reaches into his suit jacket pocket. Producing from it a 9mm handgun, he continues to close the gap between himself and the woman. Outside the room, Fischer asks Charlie
“So, what happened to the girl? She escaped?”
Charlie starts to answer
“No, Attacked by more disappearing-”
He is interrupted by a muffled BANG. BANG BANG of the gun going off inside the room. The sound of the casings hitting the floor is almost as loud as the gunshots themselves.
“-goons, probably working for the asshole we just killed.”
Not breaking his stoicism, Fischer replies
“I doubt that, very much.”
Shaking his head, and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, charlie says
“I can explain everything boss…Just give me some time to write it up in an official report”
Not breaking eye contact with the man, Fischer says, some menace creeping into his voice
“See to it that you do.”
Inside a conference room in OIA HQ
2022
“...And it is with that I conclude my remarks on case 782B. Supplemental materials to the original report point to files I do not have the clearance for holding additional information. Based on the information present, I believe that the subject of the file made it away safely, though their current status is as of yet, undetermined. The two shooters also remain an enigma, though research by the archives department have turned up nothing in regards to their actions in the country. It is highly likely the girl and her two assailants fled the country, and continued their chase elsewhere. I can safely say given what we know, our national security is secure from any follow up attacks.”
Joseph Ditter finishes his long lecture on the contents of file F8-782B. The three men sitting at the conference table look anything but impressed. One man speaks up
“No doubt the threat is minimal, we knew that years ago. I must ask you, detective Ditter, what did you think of the subject of the file? Do you think she had the makings for something more?”
Nervously, Ditter responds.
“Yes sir, she definitely had skills far beyond her years. Many of the interactions recorded make it seem as though she was trained in some form of interrogation resistance, or she is extremely shy. Given the nature of the case, I believe it is the former.”
Another one of the men speaks up.
“And given this, Mr. Ditter, what would you assess the girl’s threat level to this country to be, should she have survived and grown up.”
Once again, Ditter replies nervously.
“Low, sir. All accounts in the file tell us she is mostly non threatening to those within the kingdom, and may even harbor some form of attachment for it.”
Seemingly satisfied with his answers, the final man says.
“Very good, I’ll have someone from Archives send over some material for you to add to the file, then send it off to William for filing. Dismissed.”
Nodding his head enthusiastically, Ditter quickly says.
“Right away sir.”
Before hurrying out of the room.
Meanwhile, Minna Eis walks down the halls of the office’s main HQ, intent on finding her quarry. So intent that she does not notice an agent coming down the opposite end of the hallway. She promptly smacks into him, sending a stack of papers to the floor. Minna Eis would also fall, sending her face first onto the floor, leaving her blonde hair in a puddle. Her arms remained held up to maintain a death grip on her own papers.
The man starts to bend down to retrieve his papers, and says rather gruffly.
"You wanna watch where you're going?"
The girl would angrily bring her head up, her black framed glasses showing a visible crack as they highlight her half herzanian blond eyes. A three second long exasperated exhale of anger would come from her nostrils as she brings herself up, deciding it would be best to not get into a verbal spat with the man. Getting a good look at him for the first time, the man looks very familiar, though time and stress have certainly aged his form. The man has a salt and pepper buzzcut, with the inklings of wrinkles starting to set in on his face. It looks as though he was once in peak physical condition, but has not had to use it in many years. For his part, the man looks at the girl more closely and says, eyeing her with suspicion.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around the office before. I’m Senior Agent Fischer, Investigations, you are?”
The girl’s anger evaporates out of her body and her eyes soften as she seems to think on the man, adjusting her glasses ever so slightly. A barely audible “Hmm. . .” Would come from her before she seems to realize she was being talked to.
“Oh, I’m Minna Eis. A transfer to Investigations: Special Cases Unit.”
She says with pride. Fichser has a glint of recognition in his eyes when he finally hear's the woman speak. Outstretching a hand, he says
“Quite the young buck for SCU, back in my time they usually required you to spend some time in some other units. Good to meet you Ms. Eis.”
She stares at his outstretched hand with a slightly confused look in her eyes as she looks him up and down before a small smile appears on her face as she takes his hand.
“I’ve always had a great appreciation and respect for the men and women of the SCU, what else can I say?”
Fischer gives the woman a smile, before yanking her close, and giving her a hug. Whispering into her ear as he did so.
“You need to work on your disguise craft, It’s good to see you're doing alright.”
After the brief hug, he lets the girl go, and starts to walk away.
“Be seeing you around, Ms. Eis.”
The girl’s cheeks would feel red as she is embraced by Elias, not finding it in herself to come up with a cheeky or sarcastic response to his kind words.
“You too, you too.”
She said in a hushed whisper that only she could hear as her eyes watched the aging man walk away, a glimpse of despair. After watching the man walk until he exited her field of view she would take a long and deep breath before she turned around and continued to walk somewhat aimlessly down the halls. As the girl wanders, a woman in her mid 50s, with grays streaking through what once was brown hair, pulls her to the side.
“You. I need you to deliver this to the archives department, Mr. Dernbach. He’ll have a file you’ll need to deliver as well.”
The older woman orders. Panic paralyzes the girl as she freezes like a deer in headlights. As she gets yanked off to the side, she stares with dead eyes and hindered emotion at the secretary, only meekly nodding as she takes the papers from the secretary. She blinks rapidly as she stares at the cover and then back at the secretary with her hindered emotions. Getting annoyed at the lack of movement from the girl, the secretary says in a dismissive tone.
“Well? Off with you! Archives. It’s important that this is done quickly.”
The girl looks back at the files one more time before mumbling.
“Of course, Ma’am. Yes, Ma’am.”
She then sharply turns around and begins speed walking down the hall, aiming for the archives. The walk to archives is uneventful for the girl, and takes her to a separate wing of the building. Inside, a monolith of filing cabinets, and a mountain of paperwork stretches as far as the eye can see. A man that looks to be in his early 20s is pouring over a series of papers on what looks like a desk, despite being buried in folders and stacks of papers. More people seem to be doing similar tasks on desks around him, and it dawns on the girl this room may have, at one point, been an office. The young man looks at the girl, and says sarcastically
“Let me guess, you're here to give me 3 weeks extra paid vacation, and all I have to do is sign on the dotted line?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
She says with a shrug. Looking at the file, and then to the girl, he responds sarcastically.
“Well, a boy can dream. Ah. I’ve been waiting for this file. Means Ditter is off the hook. Go give him this, and tell him to give me my files back, I miss them.”
He finishes with a smile, and hands her another bundle of files.
“So what exactly did Ditter do?”
The girl asks innocently. He snickers, and says
“Pissed in the wrong boss's cheerios if you ask some people.”
The girl tilts her head to one side, and says
“How peculiar. Mind if I ask what I’ll be bringing him?”
Waving a finger, he says.
“Tsk tsk. You know the regulation. It’s for the case he’s working on, I’m sure he’ll love that. Now if you don’t mind”
He gesture’s to his buried desk.
“I’m kinda busy. You got anything else you need?”
“Of course, sorry for the intrusion.”
She says with a light nod of the head as she begins waking out with the new files, unsure where exactly this goose chase was supposed to take her. After being frustrated for several minutes of fruitless looking for her target's desk, she was finally pointed in the right direction by a helpful office worker.
…
Sitting down at his desk, Ditter lets the heavy file slam down as he sighed heavily. Nothing about that meeting made sense to him. When making the briefing, he had assumed that it would be about the gunmen, and their potential resurgence in a post war Galavaria, but instead it was about the child they were seemingly after. None of it made sense. He continued to stew in his own thoughts, as a blonde girl made her way towards his desk. The girl approached his desk fully, gently laying the papers on an empty section of his desk. Glancing at the file, he grimaces.
“This is a joke right? Dernbach put you up to this?”
He half heartedly asks.
“Derbach told me to give you this. Beats me why the stack is so heavy though, if it was a joke it would be one wasteful one, only one planet and all that.”
She responds. This only serves to deepen his grimace. He leans back in his chair and groans.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Mumbling under his breath, he says.
“All over a child, for fuck sakes”
Perking up, the girl asks.
“What might all this be about? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Ditter looks at her with borderline disdain, before sighing, and explaining.
“This big fuckin thing”
He says picking up the massive file and letting it hit the desk for effect.
“Is a F series file, normally meant for groups, or persons of extreme interest, as you know. Weirdest thing, it looks like it fits all the bill of a file that would keep our agents busy, yet its marked as a fuckin cold case. Worst part, what I thought was the main takeaway isn’t even what the bosses wanted out of my report, and I’m starting to think this assignment was a big joke to screw with me.”
He explains.
“Jesus Christ, that stack is huge. What does it even detail?”
She inquired as her pose became less formal, leaning a bit on the desk as she eyed the documents.
"A single. Fucking. Girl."
He swings his arms around for emphasis.
"Can you believe that?"
He asks incredulously.
“What exactly did she do?! Wait. . . girl as in young woman or girl as in a literal minor?”
She asks excitedly.
“Yeah. A child. And I can tell you all this because of this”
He says, holding up the file the girl brought.
“Makes this whole thing one big joke”
He says holding up the file the girl brought.
“Why would they be handing you this stack with this seal if it wasn’t a joke? I really doubt it’s some kind of test.”
She asks, curiosity overtaking her.
“Yeah. Its all one big fuckin joke, and I’m the punchline”
He says with an exasperated sigh.
“Mind if I take a crack at it? I can’t imagine that all this shit is over one child? What the hell did they do?”
She says, not losing her enthusiasm. He eyes the girl with suspicion for a moment, and says.
“You trying to get fired? Do you not know what this means?”
He asks, pointing to a royal seal on the file the girl brought, a familiar one at that.
“Who are you again?”
He asks, almost as if he was talking to a child that was lost.
“I’m Minna Eis. Got transferred to Investigations, Special Cases Unit to help with all our MIA.”
She responds smartly. Seemingly satisfied with her response, he motions back to the seal.
“You ever seen a genuine seal in your life? Like a real deal seal, not some photocopy. With how new you are, I certainly doubt it”
The girl looks lost in thought for a moment.
“Can’t say I have. . . If you don’t mind me asking what does it mean exactly?”
Minna asked, knowing exactly what the hell it was and that she had a ring with the royal family’s seal hidden in her pocket. ’That cheeky mother fucker.’ She thought to herself as stared at the file with fake emotion. She shook her head, continuing.
“I’ve only recently graduated recently. . .”
"That's what I thought"
He says absentmindedly compiling the folder.
"That seal is the word of royalty, marking this file as for their eyes only. ergo, the file is effectively permanently shut. Does also mean that the case is closed too, so I'm sure someone will be happy about that, and a fair few might go unhappy.”
He says, musing the idea over in his head like it was some great conundrum. Leaning forward a bit, the girl asks.
“So you're telling me once we give this to the archives it probably won’t be seen again. . . are you not curious?”
"Curious! Lady I've been forced to read every last sentence of this thing, curious is the last thing I am."
He exclaims smacking the large folders for effect.
"Although it is pretty interesting that someone in the castle took an interest in this file, enough to toss out a gag order on it."
He muses, while drumming his fingers on the stack.
“Can you at least form a hypothesis based on what you have read so far? If it was me it would be living rent free in the back of my mind for as long I’ve lived. . . maybe that is why they have stuck me compiling those MIA. . .”
She says, clearly taking a keen interest into the file.
"Hypothesis? Oh what?"
He says, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. The girl presses further.
“You said all these papers are on a child, yet you haven’t let slip on what they did in order to get so many pages. I’m guessing you don’t actually know at this point.”
Tapping the file he says, rather condescendingly.
"You're new, but by god I didn't think you were that new. I'm not supposed to tell you that, clearance and all that. But..."
He trails off and strokes his chin in mock thought
"This file is about to get locked away anyway, and the likelihood of someone from the royal family coming down here to check and make sure no one else looked at it is slim to none. Plus my career is good either way, doing work for the bosses tends to do that for you. But you, why risk your career over a file?"
He asks. Her enthusiasm breaks, and what appears to an outsider to be real emotion sneaks through.
“I’m bored.”
She says rather bluntly, an honest smile on her face as her form relaxes.
“Plus, how would they know? It’s not like if we open it a bunch of ink will spill on me as if I was shoplifting.”
Leaning back in his chair, he says, he says.
"Welp, it's your ass, not mine. The girl was the target of some bad killers, likely paid off by someone with the power and knowhow to find them. Could be 100 reasons why. My personal bet is tying up some loose ends of a monarchy. Michu is the obvious choice, though the girl doesn't seem to be listed as Michese. As for why she got so many pages? Little girl brought a lot of trouble with her, and, if the reports I've read are to be believed, has been spotted in country since. Cause the kinda hell she was at the center of and you tend to attract our attention. Curiosity satisfied?"
The girl seems to think for a moment, but doesn’t voice her thoughts.
“. . . sounds like something out of a book.”
She says rather bluntly as she leans back.
“An amateurish one. Premise obviously needs some work.”
She stares at the files he had assembled before she brought him the additional ones, hypothesizing that there had to be nearly a hundred pages.
“And you don’t wanna know what the new stack is about?”
Ditter laughs, hard.
“I’d say the same thing, If I didn’t know a fair few of the people in this story personally. Would it make it better or worse for the story if I told you a prince was involved in it all as well. Terror attacks, a scared little girl, and a prince. Swear it's all true though. Lord knows the names on the wall are.”
He ends on a somber note.
“Would it not bring shame to their memory if the story where to go unsolved then?”
She asks quietly. Without looking at her, he taps the seal again.
“You can thank whoever in the castle closed the file for that. It’s out of our hands.”
He says dismissively.
“I don’t know about you but it seems like at the current moment it is very much in your hands. . .”
She says, shrugging her shoulders. Giving her the side eye once again, he says.
“Yeah, and? You think I’m gonna magically solve a damn near ten year old cold case?”
A smug grin comes across the girl’s face.
“You never know, sometimes the answer can be staring right at you.”
Scoffing, the man retorts.
“Ha! Like you think you could actually solve a case like this. Dream on, newbie.”
Maintaining her smug demeanor, the girl has a surge in confidence and begins to tease the man.
“Did your parents never tell you to believe in yourself?”
Rolling his eyes at her childish antics, Ditter responds.
“Oh yeah, I’m sure you're really clever. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
He motions to the files. Huffing, the girl says simply.
“Pussy.”
To which the man looks flabbergasted.
“What?”
He says, unsure whether to laugh or get angry.
“You will never get anywhere in this industry with that attitude.”
She says in a mocking tone as she produces a small carton of cigarettes from her pocket, placing one in between her lips as she seems to feel around the same pocket for something to light it with. Getting angry now, the man snatches the cigarette from her hands.
“Hey dammit. You know the rules. No smoking in the building. You got some nerve, you one day wonder. I’ve seen more cases in the short time I’ve been here than you’ve seen birthdays. Watch your mouth.”
He hisses.
“You might learn something if you pay attention.”
She says as she seems to find what she was looking for in her pocket, producing a signet ring with the crest of the royal family on it. Dropping it on his desk without a care in the world. Snatching the ring up, he examines it closely.
“Impossible”
He mumbles. While he marveled at the piece, she would pick a new cigarette from the carton before producing a silver lighter, lighting it up as she held it in between her fingers.
“I always wanted to see what his majesty was hiding. So let’s open this bitch.”
She says, excitement once again pouring into her voice. In response, the man holds up the ring tentatively.
“If this is a fake, you’ll hang for it.”
He says slowly.
“Such a thing is easier said than done.”
She says as she snatches the ring from his hand before depositing it back in her pocket.
“Now, where were we?”
Blinking a few times with a confused look on his face, he responds.
“You want to open the file. What saves my ass from letting some stranger open a file that's supposed to be closed.”
Ignoring the question, she poses one of her own.
“Have you ever been hunted like a dog, Mr. Ditter?”
“No.”
He responds simply.
“Then I suggest if you want it to remain that way you will have to trust me on this one.”
Giving her a curious look, he slides the file across the table, close enough for both of them to be able to read its contents. A small and mischievous smile crept on her face before it got despoiled within a second, vanishing as soon as it came. After all these years she finally had it in front of her, the whole rotten thing. She shook her head slightly as a slight scoff came from her. She placed the lit cigarette between her lips and inhaled before pulling it from her lips, a puff of smoke came out as she exhaled. Her body tensed up again as she whispered to herself “Suck it Jorge.” Barely close enough for the goon to hear. She then looked over to him with a blank explanation.
“You ready?”
She says, anticipation palpable in her voice.
Without another word, he throws the file open, splaying a few loose pages across the desk. One of which, being a sheet of paper with the words
BY ORDER OF HM JORGE BRANDT, THIS CASE IS CLOSED
Under it, it has the impression of his personal seal. The first page sitting in the folder appears to be a handwritten piece by Jorge, with the words at the top. Before that lies an official report.
Explanation at length, the closing of file F8-782. For general use. See section B for use by codenamed Lambda
The girl’s eyes would heavily fixate on the personal letter as she seemed to stare at it for several seconds without any movement nor comment. Eventually her hand would slowly reach out to the file as she would take it in her hand and begin reading what Jorge had written. The first page, typed neatly and signed reads as such.
#F8-782C:
FOR USE ONLY BY THOSE GRANTED THE AUTHORITY OF THE HIGHEST OFFICES
The subject of file has recently come under scrutiny due to increased levels of activity in the country. An independent investigation headed by myself and a trusted group of my staff have concluded that the subject is an asset to the nation, and therefore does not require any further monitoring. See attached debriefing from HM Karl Brandt for evidence [section D]. The threat surrounding said subject is also determined to be neutralized, as no further incidents have come up since 2014. All involved with the original incident have since been inactive, or killed in the operations listed in F8-782B section F. It is therefore concluded by my investigation that an organization attempted to assassinate the subject of the file, but the timely intervention of our forces prevented such an end. I have it on good authority that the subject of the file is still alive as of the signing of this document, and the threat to her life from such a malignant group is no longer present. It is by this evidence that I declare file number F8-782B solved, and closed.
Another page, this time handwritten, reads
#F8-782C Section B: FOR THE EYES OF CODENAMED LAMBDA ONLY
Hey Schneehase,
You just won me 50 Goldmünze from Karl and Michael, thanks. On a serious note, I know you told me not to seal your file, but I couldn’t help it. You seemed so uncomfortable at its existence, and I felt really bad about our conversation in the bar. Consider this my crappy way of apologizing. I hope to one day make it up to you fully, and repair the damage done by that night. Remember, I’m always looking out for you,
Your Brother,
Jorge Brandt.
A sharp and somewhat angry exhale came from the girl as she gripped the paper as she read it. A sense of calm took her as she gently folded the handwritten paper and put it in her pocket, emotionless eyes falling on her wrist watch as she watched the seconds tick by.
At the head of the file lies a new cover page, it reads:
SEALED BY ORDER OF HM JORGE BRANDT ON 07/13/22
July 13th, 2022
Subject of report: Series of terror attacks by unknown state actors targeting a lone individual within the country.
Status: CLOSED
Threat level: N/A
Summery:
It is believed that the individual codenamed ‘Lambda’ is not of Guthic origin. Individual is described as being a female, given age being 9, and is as of now, not in the country. Her current status is unknown, but she is believed to still be alive. Photographs can be found on page 11. Incident began on October 30th, 2013…
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